Tutor Goes into Shade

Today, tutoring in Azerbaijan is an important segment of the educational market, in terms of its volume, in monetary terms, equivalent to the budget of some ministries and state committees. Advertising in newspapers is again filled with proposals for the provision of services for the preparation of children for admission to school and university.

The scale of this phenomenon is evidenced by the results of surveys, traditionally conducted by the State Examination Center among applicants. The conclusion is discouraging - over 90% of graduates of schools engage tutors for training to enter the university. If you take into account that 80-85 thousand young people apply for admission to universities every year and each of them is prepared for examinations in four subjects individually and pays from 50 to 100 manats for each subject for these classes, it is not difficult to calculate the turnover in this sector of business.

Until recently, the issue of tutoring was spoken casually, as if not noticing it. So, at least, the authorities did not want to provoke a wave of discontent in society with the quality of education of children in general education institutions. However, the economic crisis that erupted in the country sent the country's budget into such a deep knockdown that additional sources were found for its replenishment - they applied taxation to operations with offshore companies, limited cash payments to large entrepreneurs to 30,000 manats per month, etc. It was here that the tax authorities decided to seriously take on the tutors, offering them to voluntarily register as an individual entrepreneur, open an account with a bank and pay a tax. At the same time, employees of the Ministry of Taxes leaned over advertising newspapers and began to identify individuals and firms offering tutoring services.

However, attracting these people to taxation turned out to be quite a difficult task.

According to the press service of the Ministry of Taxes, according to the simplified taxation system, the tutor, if he lives in Baku, has to pay a 4% income tax, and in the regions this figure is 2%. Depending on the amount, a person who provides such services, if he is a VAT payer, has to pay an 18% VAT in addition to this tax. Tax authorities monitor the situation in this market.

At the same time, the interlocutor, who asked not to be named, found it difficult to name specifically the number of law-abiding tutors paying taxes and VAT, recognizing that the announced "hunt" for private tutors, nannies, nurses and drivers did not lead to anything.

As the economist Azer Mehdiyev notes, one can only guess about the true scale and financial injections into the so-called shadow education or tutoring in Azerbaijan. After all, in an individual order, not only students of the upper grades, but also middle and lower grades are engaged. The services of tutors are used by young people who are going to the magistracy or to the civil service. According to expert estimates, revenues from tutoring total up to 1.5 million manats per year.

Admittedly, a great majority of tutors do not pay taxes, so they try not to attract attention. In this case, the "shadow business" should be seen as something that is beyond the core, as it complements it. In Azerbaijan, as in many neighboring countries, the authorities pay much attention to basic education and are almost not interested in shadow education.

"The profile ministry does not want to discuss this topic, as if it does not exist. The authorities declare that our school education is free. But this is from a series of things that can be read in the state programs on the modernization of the education system and the reports of Minister Mikail Jabbarov. And what is happening in the backyard, in fact, is associated with the huge financial costs of consumers of educational services. Another negative impact is associated with increased social inequality: those who can afford to hire a tutor have a chance to achieve better results in their studies," Mehdiyev said. -0 ---