Guyanese are yet again taking a unified stand, this time against Government’s imposition of Value Added Tax (VAT) on education – a service which is a necessity to develop a country and is enshrined in the Constitution as a basic human right. Since its application, Government’s 14 per cent tax on private education has received widespread condemnation.
Like we have witnessed with the movement against the Parking Meters, led by the civil society group, MAPM, a mass online movement is once again taking root, and hundreds of persons have already signed a petition against Government’s decision to charge 14 per cent on private educational services. The petition is not only protesting the imposition of VAT on the education services but also on education – related expenses because Government has always paved the way for this tax to be charged on reading materials, geometry sets and other items necessary for attaining a sound education. The basis of the campaign’s stance is that the imposition of the 14 per cent VAT on private schools will impact very heavily on the children and youth attending those schools.
And while the decision aggravated the masses, the government, instead of empathizing or attempting to placate, instead came out swinging and announced that there is no VAT on public education, and that it remains a choice of the parent, one which Government is not forcing them into. The Director of the private institution, Dr Brian O’Toole, had penned a letter, which was published in the media, and which outlined the constraints that this additional 14 per cent tax would have on the specified education sector.
He had noted that while the tax might not affect the affluent in society the poorer parents who struggle to send their kids to the same school will be severely affected. However, Minister Jordan’s contentions are that if the parents ‘choose’ to send their children to private schools then they should afford the price as there is no VAT on public education. Following the Director’s pronouncements, a petition named “Education is a Necessity, Let it be VAT free” was implemented calling for an appeal to the recent imposition of 14 per cent VAT on education-related expenses.
The concerned citizens, many of whom are school students, are saying that the imposition of the 14% VAT on private schools however will, of course, impact very heavily on persons attending those schools. The students have been informed, a few days ago, that with immediate effect, their fees have now been increased by 14%. A number of these students pay the fees in G$100 bills, this new imposition may simply mean they stop the course, stay home and lose hope and add to the growing numbers of the unemployed and unemployable, stakeholders argued.
Many have come out in praise of the ad hoc Movement Against Parking Meters (MAPM) for generating and sustaining calls for the parking meter agreement to be scrapped. The group has successfully galvanised the people into action against sustained abuse and disregard by City Hall. With three successful, peaceful protests under their belts, it is the hope that more Guyanese, witnessing the results of a unified stance, will throw their support behind the petition “Education is a Necessity, Let it be VAT free”. As the Director of School of the Nations so eloquently explained, the only hope for Guyana moving forward is an educated, motivated pool of youth who see Guyana as theirs. This new tax does nothing to further that vision, that sense of optimism, the idea that they can rise out of poverty. Weather they take to the streets or garner as many signatures on the petition as they can, it is hoped that this new movement can illustrate that taxing education is not the best decision on the way forward.
