Unity colleges at crossroads

The brouhaha that broke out last week over the concession agreement between the Federal Ministry of Education (FME) and the King’s College Old Boys Association (KCOBA) clearly shows that the issue of what to do with the unity schools has reached crossroads. Matters have been building up since the surprise visit of the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, to King’s College last year. I watched a video of the visit, which began early in the morning so the minister could get a comprehensive look. You could see him moving through the classrooms, dormitories, and other on-site facilities.

To all appearances, the minister was astounded by what he saw. Beyond the visible infrastructure decay, the college had been without light for eight months. Even though it was daytime, you would see the minister engaging with students and staff in darkness. I guess the minister was not prepared for what he saw. He saw, at a glance, the level of degradation this great institution had suffered. If King’s College, the first among equals among the Unity Schools, could be laid so low, how would the others fare? It must have been, for him, a critical moment in deciding how to move forward.

The minister must have decided to go ahead with engaging KCOBA in an arrangement to share responsibilities, which, in other words, might mean a concession. Like other old boys’ associations that have been decrying the deterioration of their institutions, KCOBA has been at the forefront of wanting to take over the running of its institution to restore it to its days of glory. King’s College is probably the oldest institution of its kind in Nigeria. Founded by the British colonial administration in 1909, the college was patterned after their elite secondary schools, such as Eton College, founded in 1440.

For decades, King’s College has graduated students who have taken leadership positions in all spheres of public life. It became a beacon of academic excellence and discipline for other schools, and a place all Nigerian youths could call home. Its admission policy was national and competitive. Only the best from primary schools were admitted. The same applied to the Higher School Certificate (HSC) side of the college. I recall that when I was in Form One in 1967 at Government College, Keffi, the best-performing student in WASC that year, Shamsuddeen Usman (later Minister of Finance), went to King’s College, Lagos, for his HSC.

After the success of King’s College, the colonial government in 1927 established Queen’s College, also in Lagos, for girls only. In the years that followed, the regional governments established similar schools. In the northern region, Government Colleges were established in Keffi, Kaduna and Zaria (now renamed Barewa). The government also built a Queen’s College in Ilorin. After independence, the proliferation of Unity Schools started in earnest. The Tafawa Balewa government began in 1966 with three federal government colleges: Sokoto in the north, Warri in the west, and Okposi in the east.

After the civil war, General Yakubu Gowon established nine more. Now the number has climaxed at the unmanageable figure of 104. The overall deterioration of infrastructure and academic standards in the Unity Schools has been steep, so much so that their old boys’ associations have been up in arms, wanting to take over the management and upkeep of their alma maters. During President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, it almost became a fait accompli, with a strong case made to hand over management of the Unity Schools to their old boys’ associations.

However, the gra-gra manner in which Oby Ezekwesili, then Minister of Education, handled the matter made implementation impossible. The unions, some parents’ associations, and some students’ bodies strongly opposed it, citing probable job losses and exorbitant tuition fees. The uproar was so much that the succeeding administration of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in 2007 was forced to jettison the idea.

The old boys’ associations, nevertheless, never relented as they watched these iconic schools deteriorate from bad to worse. They kept pumping up the pressure on all the governments of the federation. They got their first sign of success in 2022, when Governor Seyi Makinde’s government in Oyo State decided to go into partnership with the old boys’ association of Government College Ibadan. This is one of the most renowned government colleges in the country. Established in 1929, it is reputed to have produced, among others, 80 per cent of the Presidents of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, along with a Nobel Laureate.

The partnership involves giving the Government College Ibadan Old Boys Association (GCIOBA) a concession to take control of the college for operations, maintenance, and facility rehabilitation. The college, however, remains 100 per cent owned by the Oyo State Government. GCIOBA has since swung into action. The association has firm control of the administration of the college. They have appointed a new principal, a vastly more experienced person who has run many private schools. GCIOBA has also provided him with the wherewithal to operate, including a new SUV. From all indications, the future of Government College, Ibadan is assured.

From my perspective, this is the way to go. I expect the King’s College concession matter will be speedily sorted out, giving other old boys associations the impetus to ask for their alma maters to be returned to them to run.