The Nigerian Minister of education has ruled out the sale of King’s College, Lagos, and other Federal Unity Colleges, assuring that the proposed management arrangement involving the school will not increase fees or lead to job losses for teachers.
Dr Tunji Alausa, gave the assurance in Abuja while addressing journalists on the controversy surrounding the proposed partnership with the King’s College Old Boys Association (KCOBA).
Alausa said the government had no intention of extending the arrangement to other Unity Colleges, stressing that the institutions would remain under Federal Government ownership.
“Let me be unequivocal, the 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 arrangement with KCOBA was designed to attract additional resources for the rehabilitation and modernisation of King’s College while preserving government ownership.
According to him, the initiative became necessary because of the deteriorating condition of infrastructure at the school and the need to restore its historical standards.
Alausa said an unannounced visit to the college revealed poor conditions in some hostels, bathrooms, classrooms, laboratories and other facilities.
He also said the school had experienced a prolonged power outage during his visit, prompting him to contact the relevant electricity distribution company, after which electricity was restored to the Senior Secondary School section.
The minister raised security concerns over the use of part of the school premises as a paid car park, saying unrestricted public access could expose students to risks. He said he ordered the arrangement to be stopped.
Alausa said KCOBA had indicated its willingness to make substantial investments in the school through a non-profit foundation. He added that the association had proposed retaining merit-based admission while ensuring students from across the country continued to have access to the institution.
He said KCOBA had also claimed to have invested more than N2 billion in infrastructure support at the college over the years.
The minister said the government faced a major funding shortfall in rehabilitating the country’s 115 Federal Unity Colleges, with the accumulated infrastructure deficit requiring resources beyond current government funding.
“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 said.
Alausa estimated that even N2 trillion would not be sufficient to address the infrastructure needs of all the Unity Colleges.
To supplement government funding, he said approval had been obtained to repurpose about $20 million from a World Bank-supported programme for the comprehensive rehabilitation of selected Unity Colleges.
About 20 schools had been selected for the intervention, he said, adding that the funding would cover schools across the country.
Alausa said the estimated cost of rehabilitating Unity Colleges in the South-West alone was nearly N100 billion, making additional funding options necessary while retaining government ownership of the institutions.
On concerns over school fees, the minister reiterated that the King’s College arrangement would not result in an increase.
He said the agreement contained stringent Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to safeguard the interests of the government and learners.
Alausa also disclosed that the Ministry of Education had established an implementation and monitoring team to conduct unannounced inspections and ensure compliance with the agreement.
He said the government remained willing to engage the unions and consider legitimate concerns that could improve the arrangement.
The minister urged journalists to visit the schools and independently assess their conditions before reporting on the controversy.
The Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, said no teacher would lose their job as a result of the King’s College arrangement.
She said affected teachers had been given the opportunity to indicate their preferred locations for redeployment in accordance with the Public Service Rules.
Ahmad added that the government was implementing teacher capacity-building programmes as part of efforts to improve learning standards in Unity Colleges and other schools.
She said a committee had been constituted to review the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and address concerns raised by stakeholders, while union representatives would participate in another committee responsible for monitoring its implementation.
“There is no fee increase in this arrangement. It is part of the MoU we signed,” she said.
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Ahmad said the government’s aim was to restore the quality and excellence historically associated with the Unity Colleges, noting that the decline in standards had occurred over several decades and would require sustained investment in infrastructure and teacher development.
She said the government was also considering different public-private partnership models for rehabilitating Unity Colleges, citing the Kano model as one option.
Meanwhile, Alausa said the government had engaged the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and other unions over the issues affecting the schools.
According to him, the government reached a six-point agreement with the TUC leadership, following which a communiqué was issued calling on workers to return to work.
He said the Federal Government would continue discussions with the unions while pursuing measures to address the infrastructure and management challenges facing the Unity Colleges.
Alausa reiterated the administration’s commitment to improving the quality and reputation of the institutions while retaining government ownership.
