Stakeholders and private organisations have advocated for education tax credit scheme to incentivise and deepen investment in Nigeria’s education sector so as to significantly address its many challenges.
The stakeholders at the ongoing Africa Social Impact Summit with the theme “Rethink, Rebuild, Recover” in Abuja, also urged private sector organisations to rather than work in silos, collaborate, forge a formal alliance and pull resources together to rescue Nigeria’s education sector, as it did during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Adetomi Soyinka, director of programmes and regional director, higher education, British Council, speaking at the summit organised by Sterling One Foundation, said the private sector cannot solve Nigeria’s education crisis, while also pointing out the need for government to prioritise and incentivise the sector to attract investments.
Soyinka informed that a body known as Private Sector Advisory Group is currently working in different clusters that speak to different Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including education. She said the aim of the group was to find smart ways to incentivise private sector investments in education.
The director noted that the group came up with the education tax credit initiative which is similar to the infrastructure tax credit, and is currently in talks with the ministry of finance, and ministry of education, and is looking to galvanising more private sector organisations to drive and be a part of the initiative.
Tonia Uduimoh, programme manager, Oando Foundation, also expressed concerns that private sector organisations were doing similar activities with one goal but working in silos rather than having conversations with themselves.
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“We need to do more and be more deliberate, if we wait for the government, we may wait forever”, she urged.
Matthias Schmale, UN resident and humanitarian coordinator for Nigeria, said it was unfortunate that the country was not on track to reach many of its SDGs by 2030, a situation he noted has been compounded by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
Schmale, however, observed that “as Africa’s largest country by both population and size of the economy, Nigeria is critically important to the success of the 2030 agenda, both on this continent and globally.”
“Given that we are currently tracking behind in our efforts to attain the SDGs, we must identify truly transformative initiatives that will catalyse tangible change in the lives and livelihoods of Africans,” he urged.
The coordinator also stated that investment in women and girls can boost attainment of the SDGs and economic growth. According to him, studies show that women and men participating equally in the economy could add a further $28 trillion to global annual GDP by 2025.
“If we position women and girls at the centre of economies, we will fundamentally drive better and more sustainable outcomes for all, support a more rapid recovery, and put Africa back on a footing to achieve the 2030 Agenda and its accompanying SDGs,” he urged.
