Photo caption: Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa
The Federal Government has agreed to suspend for two weeks the implementation of the planned takeover of King’s College, Lagos, by the institution’s Old Boys’ Association, following a meeting with education-sector labour unions in Abuja on Wednesday.
The agreement, according to sources privy to the meeting, was reached at a meeting between the education ministers and representatives of labour unions in the Federal Ministry of Education amid protests and industrial action over the controversial concession of the 117-year-old college.
Under the five-point agreement, the unions resolved to immediately suspend the industrial action, while the government assured workers that no staff member would be victimised for participating in the protest.
The parties also agreed to a two-week pause in the implementation of the takeover arrangement involving the King’s College Old Boys’ Association, while a seven-member committee would be constituted to review and negotiate the Federal Government’s agreement with the old students.
Another resolution was the redeployment of policemen from the premises of King’s College.
The five resolutions followed growing opposition from workers to the Federal Government’s decision to concession the management of the Lagos college to the King’s College Old Boys’ Association under a public-private partnership arrangement.
The dispute had escalated on Tuesday when protesting workers prevented members of the Old Boys’ Association from entering the school premises, leading to a confrontation and police intervention.
The workers had argued that the concession amounted to an attempt to privatise a Federal Government-owned unity school and demanded that the arrangement be suspended.
However, the Federal Government maintained that King’s College has not been sold or privatised, stressing that legal ownership remains with the government.
Earlier on Wednesday, a heavy police presence had taken over the Lagos school premises, a day after a confrontation between protesting staff and members of the King’s College Old Boys’ Association.
However, the protesting parents and staff were conspicuously absent from the school gate, with police vehicles and officers stationed around the premises.
Roads leading to the main gate of the college were cordoned off, while motorists coming from the Tafawa Balewa Square end and heading towards CMS were diverted to alternative routes.
Speaking with The PUNCH on Wednesday, the Chairman of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, King’s College, Sam Enang, said the protesting staff had retreated from the school gate in the interest of their safety after getting information about the heavy police deployment from the early hours of Wednesday.
He said, “At around 3 am, the police started arriving there with different setups. We saw three to five divisions at King’s College gate. We started seeing Black Maria, task force and other trucks.
“They blocked St Nicholas, they blocked the High Court, and they blocked the roundabout as if they were going to Island Maternity. They also sent about two trucks to our back gate and kept policemen there.”
Enang said the staff had decided not to mobilise to the school to avoid a repeat of Tuesday’s confrontation.
“Yesterday, they came in and forced themselves in, the police. Today, again, the old boys came, but we advised that we don’t want anybody to be hurt, so we didn’t mobilise this time,” he said.
“I thank God none of my staff confronted them because I instructed them. They were not confronted,” he added.
According to him, the old boys were escorted around the school by heavily armed policemen while the staff stayed away.
“They turned our compound into a police barracks. The police have taken over the two gates,” he said.
He, however, maintained that the staff unions would continue their protest against the school’s concession.
“Our next line of action is that we continue the Aluta. We are not backing down on any concession. We say no to concession.
“Our slogan is: no reversal, no resumption,” he said.
The union chairman said staff unions at the Federal Ministry of Education headquarters in Abuja also continued their protest and engagement with the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, over the concession.
He said the staff would maintain their position until the concession was reversed.
The latest development followed Tuesday’s fracas at the college when staff union members resisted the opening of the school gates by security personnel to allow members of the Old Boys’ Association into the premises.
The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Tijani, who was present on Tuesday alongside a large deployment of police personnel, oversaw the opening of the gate despite resistance from the protesting staff.
During the ensuing melee, two protesting staff members were seen lying on the ground, with water poured on one of them, while at least one staff member was taken away in a police van.
The CP said the police were at the school to prevent a breakdown of law and order and protect lives and property.
He also said an agreement had been reached by the parties for the Old Boys’ Association to hold its meeting within the school premises on Wednesday.
Addressing journalists on the school premises on Wednesday, the President of the Old Boys’ Association, Kashim Ibrahim-Imam, defended the concession, insisting that the old boys were not taking ownership of the institution.
He said the school remained the property of the Federal Government and that the association’s responsibility under the arrangement was to manage and improve it.
“There is no willing seller. There is also no willing buyer. So King’s is not sold.
“King’s remains the property of the Federal Government of Nigeria. Our responsibility is merely to manage. We’ll step forward so that we’ll take over the management and manage it to the highest global standards,” he said.
Ibrahim-Imam said the old boys were not planning to retrench teachers but intended to improve their remuneration and training.
He said the association was committed to doubling the salaries and allowances of King’s College teachers as a first step.
He also dismissed concerns that the concession would lead to higher school fees or transform the college into an elite institution inaccessible to children from poor families.
“We have no plans, and I make this claim on behalf of the old boys, that we are not going to increase the fees,” he said.
He said the association wanted to preserve the national character and diversity of the institution, adding that admissions should continue to provide opportunities for children from different parts of the country and poor backgrounds.
Ibrahim-Imam also proposed greater scrutiny of the finances and management of the college, including funds generated through Parent-Teacher Association levies and other sources of revenue.
He called for a joint committee involving the media and other stakeholders to scrutinise both the old boys’ proposals and the existing management of the school.
He said the association also intended to rehabilitate dilapidated structures within the college and improve its facilities.
After the press conference, the old boys toured the school premises accompanied by police personnel.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has clarified that it has no plan to extend the proposed management arrangement for King’s College, Lagos, to other Unity Colleges across the nation.
Alausa stated this during a news conference in Abuja on Wednesday while addressing the ongoing controversy surrounding the proposed deal.
Alausa revealed that the government had explicitly informed labour unions that the agreement with the King’s College Old Boys’ Association remained an isolated case.
He stressed that the single-management model did not signal a shift towards similar arrangements for other government-owned schools.
“No. We’re not extending it. The government still has its responsibility,” Alausa affirmed.
He reassured the public that the Federal Government would maintain its mandate to fund the rehabilitation of all other Unity Colleges directly.
To combat infrastructure deficits, the minister noted that the government was actively exploring alternative funding mechanisms to supplement budget allocations.
“As part of these efforts, approval has been secured to repurpose approximately $20m from a World Bank-supported programme for school rehabilitation.”
He explained that around 20 Unity Colleges had already been selected for the specific funding intervention, which would eventually cover institutions nationwide.
Highlighting the scale of the financial challenge, Alausa pointed out that fully rehabilitating Unity Colleges in the South-West region alone would cost nearly N100bn.
He explained that the special decision regarding King’s College was driven by severe infrastructure decay and KCOBA’s readiness to invest heavily through a non-profit foundation.
Alausa said the agreement with the King’s College Old Boys’ Association was designed to mobilise additional resources for the school without transferring its ownership from the government.
He said the arrangement would be subject to stringent key performance indicators to ensure compliance with agreed standards.
According to him, the Ministry of Education had established an implementation and monitoring team to conduct unannounced inspections and ensure compliance with the agreement.
Alausa said the government remained open to dialogue with unions and would consider legitimate concerns that could add value to the arrangement.
He said decades of accumulated infrastructure decay in Unity Colleges could not be addressed immediately through government funding alone.
The minister reiterated that there would be no increase in school fees, noting that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) contained provisions to protect the interests of the government and learners.
He urged journalists to visit the schools and independently assess their condition before reporting on the controversy surrounding the arrangement.
Also speaking, the Minister of State for Education, Prof Suwaiba Ahmad, assured that no teacher would lose their job as a result of the King’s College arrangement.
Ahmad said affected teachers had been given the option to indicate where they wanted to be redeployed, in line with the Public Service Rules.
She said the government was implementing teacher capacity-building programmes as part of broader reforms to improve learning outcomes in Unity Colleges and other schools.
According to her, the government remained open to further engagement with unions on concerns surrounding the arrangement.
She said legitimate concerns would be considered for possible incorporation into the MoU, adding that a committee had been established to review the agreement and address issues raised by stakeholders.
Ahmad said union representatives would also be included in a committee to monitor implementation of the agreement.
“There is no fee increase in this arrangement. It is part of the MoU we signed.
“With the workers’ protest, we cannot meet with them when they have shut the ministry.
“Normalcy must return to the ministry if the unions want us to listen to them,” she said.
Ahmad said the government’s objective was to restore the quality and excellence historically associated with Unity Colleges.
She said the decline in standards had occurred over several decades and required sustained interventions in infrastructure and teacher development.
The minister added that the government was exploring various public-private partnership models to rehabilitate Unity Colleges, citing the Kano model as one of the options being considered.
