Workers, parents shut 120 Unity Schools, education ministry

• Stall resumption, demand reversal •Students turned back as gates remain locked

From **Gabriel Dike and Fred Ezeh, **Abuja

Workers and parents, yesterday, shut the gates of the 120 Federal Government Colleges (FGCs) across the country and disrupted resumption for the 2026/2027 academic session in protest against the concession of King’s College, Lagos, to the King’s College Old Boys’ Association (KCOBA).

The protest also spread to the headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Education in Abuja, where workers barricaded the entrance, chanting solidarity songs and demanding that the Federal Government halt the concession plan.

Staff under the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) and members of the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) staged protests at Unity Colleges across the country, while some students who reported for resumption were turned back.

The schools were scheduled to reopen on Sunday, with academic activities commencing yesterday, but the union had directed its members not to resume work while parents were asked not to send their children to school.

At the Federal Ministry of Education headquarters in Abuja, aggrieved workers led by ASCSN Chairman, Samson Chigozie Nnegdi, barricaded the entrance with placards and insisted that the government immediately reverse the decision.

At King’s College, Lagos, placards displayed at the school carried inscriptions including: “King’s College is not for sale,” “All Unity Colleges are not for sale,” “KCOBA stay clear” and “No resumption for all Unity Colleges.”

General Secretary of the ASCSN at King’s College, Ebenezer Oguntade, said workers were opposed to the concession because, according to him, critical stakeholders were excluded from the negotiations.

He said the gates of the 120 Federal Government Colleges were shut by the union and PTA to stall resumption, adding that KCOBA’s office at King’s College had also been locked.

Oguntade expressed fears that King’s College could become a template for similar arrangements in other Unity Colleges.

According to him, the schools were established to provide access to quality education and promote national integration, objectives he argued could be undermined by the concession policy.

Treasurer of the King’s College PTA, Emmanuel Abya, also said parents opposed the decision, alleging that stakeholders were not adequately consulted.

“King’s College is stepping stone to acquire others. The Federal Government should run KC and other schools with adequate funds.

“If KCOBA has the resources and manpower, let them establish new private school and run it. The PTA will not back down from this struggle. It is time for the President to speak out. KC is a template for others to go,” he said.

Other parents who spoke at the school expressed fears that the arrangement could eventually put the college beyond the reach of children from poor families.

Similar resistance was recorded at Federal Government Girls’ College (FGGC), Bwari, Abuja, where parents and teachers barricaded the entrance to protest the concession policy.

The controversy followed a directive by the Federal Ministry of Education for the management of King’s College to commence arrangements for the transfer of the school’s management to KCOBA.

In a letter dated September 4, 2026, the ministry said all necessary processes leading to the signing of a concession agreement between the Federal Government and KCOBA had been concluded.

The letter, signed by Dr. Folake Olatunji-David, Director overseeing the Office of the Permanent Secretary, also disclosed that a transition committee had been constituted to oversee the process.

According to the ministry, the transition is expected to be completed within six months, after which funding of the college from the Federation Account would cease.

“The transition committee is to ensure a seamless transition of the college management to KCOBA within six months after which funding of the college from Federation Account will be stopped,” the letter stated.

The Principal was also directed to provide the transition committee with a list of staff willing to remain in the employment of the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC).

The concession has also exposed divisions within KCOBA, with a section of the old boys challenging the proposed arrangement in court even though the association is the designated concessionaire.

The legal challenge by the opposing section of the alumni body has added another dimension to the controversy surrounding the future management of the 117-year-old institution.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government has dismissed suggestions that King’s College has been sold or privatised, insisting that the institution remains publicly owned.

Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, said the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) agreement transfers neither ownership nor proprietary interest in King’s College to KCOBA.

“Let me assure Nigerians, particularly the King’s College community, that this concession is not a sale of King’s College. Government has retained legal title to the institution and will continue to exercise its oversight responsibilities,” he said.

Alausa said the arrangement was designed to mobilise the financial and management capacity required to rehabilitate, modernise and sustain the institution while preserving its public character and national identity.

Under the agreement, KCOBA is expected to finance, rehabilitate, operate and maintain the school, including its academic and administrative buildings, hostels, staff quarters, laboratories, libraries, dining and health facilities, utilities and sporting facilities.

It also provides for new classrooms, laboratories and hostels, improved sporting facilities, learning resources and digital tools.

On fears that the concession could result in higher fees, Alausa said the agreement did not prescribe an automatic increase in school fees, although it did not impose a permanent fee freeze.

He said admission would continue under applicable Unity College policies, maintaining merit, transparency, national representation and the National Common Entrance Examination as a central part of the JSS1 admission process.

On workers, the minister said the agreement contained a Staff Transition and Protection Framework, with existing employment obligations, arrears, pensions, gratuities and other liabilities arising before the transition remaining the responsibility of the Federal Government unless expressly assumed by KCOBA.

Following the transition, KCOBA would assume responsibility for relevant operating expenditure, including salaries, benefits and allowances of personnel engaged under the project.

Alausa also said government would retain regulatory, monitoring, inspection and enforcement powers, including the right to intervene in cases of persistent underperformance or serious contractual default.

“Our responsibility is to protect the integrity and public purpose of King’s College while ensuring that the institution receives the investment, infrastructure and management capacity required to meet the needs of present and future generations,” he said.

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