The authorities of the Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, on Tuesday, closed good number of private schools for tax evasion.

The Chairman of the council, Mr Samuel Akala, confirmed the development to Northern City News in a telephone conversation.

Akala, however, could not provide the number of the affected private schools, noting that the council depended mainly on Internally Generated Revenue to fund its projects and programmes.

But investigation by our correspondent indicated that some of the proprietors were avoiding the payment of taxes due to the exorbitant charges.

They claimed that the management of Keffi and Karu local government areas of the state had illegally hiked the registration fees and were harassing their members with security operatives.

When asked if it was true that the school owners were evading taxes due to the high charges, the council chairman denied the allegation.

It will be recalled that the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools, Nasarawa State chapter, had protested against alleged extortion by the local government authorities in the state last year.