THE EFFECT OF TAX EVASION ON NIGERIA’S TERTIARY EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background of the Study

In many nations of the world, education has been universally acknowledged as an instrument for national development. The term educational system generally refers to public schooling, not private schooling and more commonly to kindergarten through high school programs. Schools or school districts are typically the smallest recognized form of “education system” while federal level of education is the largest form of “education system”. States are also considered to have education systems. Simply put, an educational system comprises everything that goes into educating public school students at federal, state or community levels.

Nigeria’s education system operates on 9-3-4 system (primary school for 6 years, junior secondary school for 3 years, senior secondary school for 3 years, and university first degree for 4 years). Tertiary education as a sub-set of any country’s educational system comprises of universities, polytechnics and colleges of education. Universities are established to carryout tripartite roles of teaching, researching and community services thereby contributing meaningfully to social and economic development of the nation. They are supposed to impact high level skills to reasonable proportion of workforce, developing intellectual abilities of individuals and engaging in training of competent and responsible professionals needed virtually in all aspects of human endeavour. Polytechnics play a vital role in the educational, scientific and technological progress of Nigeria. They are established to train and produce the technical manpower necessary for the execution of the Nation’s development plans, goals and strategies. The colleges of education are the “train-the-trainers” colleges established to train and equip teachers for their esteemed functions.

Education, being an indispensable tool in nation building, is a process of systematic training and instruction designed to transmit knowledge and acquisition of skills, potentials and abilities which will enable an individual contribute effectively to the growth and development of his society and nation. Education involves all round development of an individual physically, socially, morally, intellectually, and mentally (Osakwe, 2006). Education is the process of facilitating learning or the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values, beliefs and habits.

Tax is a civic contribution imposed by the government on her subjects (individual and corporate bodies) with a view to financing its responsibilities of ensuring public welfare, socially, economically and politically (Kiable and Nwankwo, 2009).

An education tax 2% of profit is imposed on all companies incorporated in Nigeria. This tax is viewed as a social obligation placed on all companies in ensuring that they contribute their own quota in developing educational facilities in the country. When the federal government of Nigeria announced the establishment of the Education Trust Fund (E.T.F) through the Education Tax, decree no 7 of 1993 before it later metamorphosed into Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), because basic education is already taken care of by Universal Basic Education (UBE), the whole idea was to create an intermediary agency to manage the two percent of all assessable profit of companies registered in Nigeria on its behalf as a special intervention fund for the education sector.