Follow Us on Google Discover
The Federal Government has clarified that the proposed management arrangement for King’s College, Lagos, will not be extended to other Federal Unity Colleges across the country.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, made this known during a news conference in Abuja on Wednesday while addressing the controversy surrounding the proposed arrangement with the King’s College Old Boys Association (KCOBA).
Alausa said the government had informed labour unions that the King’s College arrangement was an isolated case, stressing that the Federal Government would continue to fund the rehabilitation of other government-owned unity colleges.
What the minister is saying
Alausa said the government had no plan to adopt the same management model for other Federal Unity Colleges.
Also Read
- “No. We’re not extending it. The government still has its responsibility,” the minister said.
He reassured the public that the Federal Government would continue to directly fund the rehabilitation of other unity colleges while exploring alternative funding mechanisms to address infrastructure deficits.
The minister said approval had been secured to repurpose about $20 million from a World Bank-supported programme for school rehabilitation.
He added that about 20 unity colleges had already been selected for the intervention, which would eventually cover institutions nationwide.
Why King’s College is different
Alausa said the decision concerning King’s College was driven by severe infrastructure decay and KCOBA’s readiness to invest heavily through a non-profit foundation.
He highlighted the scale of the financial challenge, noting that fully rehabilitating Federal Unity Colleges in the South-West region alone would cost nearly N100 billion.
The minister said the government was exploring alternative funding mechanisms to supplement budgetary allocations for the rehabilitation of unity colleges.
Get up to speed
The controversy over the management of King’s College followed the Federal Government’s decision to concession the school to its old boys’ association.
- On September 11, Nairametrics reported that the Federal Government had retained ownership of King’s College while the King’s College Old Boys’ Association (KCOBA) would finance, rehabilitate, operate and maintain the school under a Public-Private Partnership concession.
- The concession subsequently drew opposition from education unions, leading to planned industrial action over the arrangement.
- On September 15, Nairametrics reported that the Trade Union Congress (TUC) suspended its planned shutdown of Federal Unity Colleges following a meeting with Education Minister Tunji Alausa.
A seven-member committee was constituted to review the unions’ concerns, while TUC said the industrial action could resume if it was dissatisfied with the committee’s recommendations.
However, some unions under the Joint Workers Council subsequently rejected the suspension, insisting that the Federal Government reverse the King’s College concession.
What you should know
The Federal Government is also pursuing measures to expand access to digital learning resources as part of broader education reforms.
On September 10, Nairametrics reported that the government had launched the Zero-Rated Access to Education Platforms initiative in collaboration with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
The initiative is designed to provide learners with zero-rated access to approved academic websites, with the government saying the move would help expand access to digital educational resources.
