By Omoyeni Ojeifo
The Federal Government has agreed to a two-week hold on the takeover and implementation of King’s College, Lagos’s proposed management arrangement to consult further with labor unions.
Reached on Wednesday in Abuja, the agreement includes explicit assurances that the new plan will not cause an increase in school fees.
PersecondNews correspondent reports that the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, addressed concerns surrounding the proposed management arrangement with the King’s College Old Boys Association (KCOBA).
On the issue of fees, Alausa assured parents that the arrangement would not lead to a hike in school fees, and that the agreement contained stringent Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to safeguard the interests of the government and learners.
According to the minister, the arrangement is specific to King’s College and will not be extended to other Federal Unity Colleges, with the Federal Government retaining responsibility for the institutions.
“No. We’re not extending it. Government still has its responsibility,” he said.
Alausa also dismissed concerns over the sale or transfer of ownership of Federal Unity Colleges.
“Let me be unequivocal, Federal Government is not selling any Unity College.
“Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Education, does not have the intention to sell any Unity College, and we will not sell any Unity College.
“That is the government position, and go and write it down and hold on to that, we are not selling the government institutions,” he said.
He explained that the proposed KCOBA arrangement was designed to mobilise additional resources for the rehabilitation and modernisation of King’s College while retaining government ownership.
Alausa disclosed that an unannounced visit to the school exposed poor conditions in hostels, bathrooms, classrooms and laboratories, alongside prolonged electricity challenges.
He also noted that part of the school premises had been used as a paid car park, which he ordered cancelled because of concerns over unrestricted public access to the institution.
“KCOBA indicated its willingness to invest substantially through a non-profit foundation while preserving merit-based admission and access to the school from across the country,” the minister said.
The association has also claimed to have invested more than N2 billion in infrastructure and other support for the school.
“President Bola Tinubu is investing in infrastructure, including the sub-sector, but there’s so much, significant infrastructure gap that has happened for 40 years and we don’t have the funds,” he noted.
Alausa estimated that even N2 trillion might not be sufficient to address the infrastructure deficit across the country’s 115 Federal Unity Colleges.
“The Federal Government has also approved about $20 million under a World Bank-supported programme for the rehabilitation of selected Unity Colleges, with about 20 schools chosen for the intervention,” he noted.
Rehabilitation of Unity Colleges across the South-West is estimated at nearly N100 billion, further highlighting the scale of the infrastructure needs facing the schools.
He maintained that the government remained willing to engage with the unions and consider legitimate concerns capable of improving the arrangement.
Also speaking, the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, maintained that the proposed arrangement would neither increase school fees nor lead to job losses for teachers.
“There is no fee increase in this arrangement. It is part of the MoU we signed. With the worker’s 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 explained that affected teachers would be allowed to indicate their preferred redeployment destinations in line with the Public Service Rules.
She recalled that a committee had been established to review the memorandum of understanding and address concerns raised by stakeholders, while union representatives would participate in a separate monitoring committee.
Persecondnews correspondent also reports that under the fresh understanding, the protesting workers are expected to suspend the industrial action immediately, while workers who participated in the protest are to be protected from victimisation.
The agreement also provides for the withdrawal of policemen from the King’s College premises.
A seven-member committee will further negotiate, review and examine the Federal Government’s agreement with the old students’ association.
The latest development comes against the backdrop of continued industrial action after the earlier TUC agreement and suspension of the strike.
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