We concentrated on how to register school ( including Institutions of Higher Education) in Nigeria as a private person, the requirements and steps to complete the school business registration. It may interest you to know that schools in Nigeria do not pay Value Added Tax (VAT).
Nigeria is among the developing countries of the world that have investment opportunities in educational sector.
Government policy that allow private sector to own and run schools in Nigeria has widened the opportunities. Private schools are increasingly springing up from various parts of the country.
Requirements for School Registration as a Business Name.
Note: School Registration as a Business Name only allows you to run Daycare, Nursery and Primary Schools only.
The proposed name of the school (2 names must be submitted to CAC)
– The address of the school
– The functions and objectives of the school
– Particulars of the School Proprietor(s) – (copy of their identification card,
which could be National passport/National Identity card/Driver’s license or
voters card), Age, phone numbers, email address and residential address of the school proprietor(s). 2 passport photographs of the School proprietor(s)
Requirements for Registration of a school as a Private Limited Liability Company (LTD)
Note: This allows to run Daycare, Nursery, Primary and Secondary
Schools only.
Read: School Management Software in Nigeria
The proposed name of the school (2 names must be submitted)
– The address of the school
– The authorized share capital of the school
– The objectives of the school
– Particulars of the 2 directors and shareholders of the school – (copy of their identification card, which could be National passport/National Identity
card/Driver’s license or voters card), Age, phone numbers, email address and residential address of the 2 directors and shareholders.
Requirements for Establishing Institutions of Higher Education In Nigeria
An institution of Higher Education may be sponsored or owned by the Government of the Federation or of a State or Local Government or by any of the following, that is:-
a. By a Company incorporated in Nigeria
b. By an individual or association of individuals who are citizens of Nigeria, and who satisfy the criteria set out in the Schedule to this Act for establishment of institutions.
(1) Application for the establishment of an institution of higher education shall be made to the Minister:-
a. in the case of a University, through the National Universities Commission
b. in the case of a Polytechnic or College of Agriculture, through the National
Board for Technical Education;
c. in the case of a College of Education, through the National Commission for Colleges of Education; and
d. in any other case, through the Director-General of the Federal Ministry of
Education, in accordance with the guidelines prescribed for making the
application.
(2) No State, Local Government or tertiary institution shall benefit from the education tax with respect to a tertiary institution unless the application for the establishment of that tertiary institution was made in accordance with the provision of subsection (1) of this section.
(3) No person shall be granted approval to establish an institution of higher education
unless the criteria set out in the Schedule to this Act have been satisfied.
Approval from the Ministry of Education (both Business Name & LTD Schools)
After successful registration of a school with the Corporate Affairs
Commission, the next thing to be done is obtaining approval from the Ministry of Education in the state where the school is located. Educational Higher institution are managed by Federal ministries.
How to obtain approval for the school from State Ministry of Education:
A formal application shall be made to the Ministry of Education of the state
where the school is located. The below steps may differ from one state in Nigeria to another.
1. Obtain and submission of approval forms by the School to the Ministry of
Education. This is followed by inspection of the school by the officials of the
Ministry of educations.
The inspection here ranges from inspection of toilets, classroom and
administrative blocks.
2. Inspection of the school by the officials of the Ministry of Education.
The inspection here ranges from inspection of curriculum textbooks and other items.
Approval certificate awarded to the school after satisfaction by the Ministry
officials upon the 2nd inspection.