FG Workers Protest in Abuja, Reject Unity Colleges Concession Plan

Workers of the Federal Ministry of Education and leaders of affiliated trade unions on Monday staged another protest in Abuja over the Federal Government’s concession of King’s College, Lagos, and the wider plan involving Federal Unity Colleges.

The protesters gathered at the headquarters of the Ministry of Education, carrying placards and chanting solidarity songs as they demanded that the government reverse the concession arrangement.

They also rejected any plan to transfer the management of Federal Unity Colleges to private organisations, insisting that the institutions should remain under public ownership and control.

This latest demonstration came after the education unions suspended the resumption of students in Federal Unity Colleges nationwide.

The unions had directed that students should not return for the new academic session until the government addresses their concerns over the concession of King’s College and related issues affecting the schools.

The dispute has now gone beyond King’s College, with the workers warning that the controversy could affect more than 100 Federal Unity Colleges across the country if the government does not change its position.

The protesters said the Federal Unity Colleges were established to provide access to quality secondary education while promoting interaction among students from different parts of Nigeria.

They argued that placing such institutions under private management could eventually increase the cost of education and make the schools difficult for children from low-income families to attend.

Speaking during the protest, Comrade Gali Habib, a trade union leader in the ministry, said the workers were demonstrating in solidarity with colleagues affected by the policy.

Habib said the protest was also meant to protect the public character of the Federal Unity Colleges and prevent policies that could weaken their role in promoting national integration.

He said many families relied on the colleges because they offered quality education at subsidised rates.

According to him, students from different ethnic, cultural and economic backgrounds had been able to meet and study together through the Federal Unity Colleges.

“If you are selling these schools to private organisations, will the children of the poor be able to access quality education again? No,” he asked.

Habib said wealthy Nigerians could afford private schools, but the same could not be said of many ordinary families who depended on government institutions.

He therefore called on the Federal Government to increase funding for the schools instead of transferring their management to private interests.

He said more money should be provided for infrastructure, teachers’ welfare, learning facilities and other needs required to keep the colleges functioning effectively.

Habib further said the workers would continue with their industrial action until the government reversed the decision.

The protest is coming days after workers of the Federal Ministry of Education shut down the ministry in Abuja and threatened to extend the action to all Federal Unity Colleges.

The Joint Workers Union had warned that it could keep the ministry and the schools closed indefinitely if the concession arrangement was not withdrawn.

However, Parents and students of King’s College had earlier staged a protest in Lagos, demanding that the Federal Government retain control of the institution.

They also threatened legal action and opposed the proposed resumption of students until the government responded to their concerns.

Workers at the college have also rejected the concession.

The King’s College unit of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria said staff members were not prepared to accept an arrangement that could affect their employment under the Federal Civil Service.

The union said workers had been presented with information about the concession and were concerned about their future under the proposed arrangement.

A staff representative who spoke on condition of anonymity said Federal Unity Colleges remained important national institutions because they bring together students from different parts of the country.

The worker said weakening the public character of the colleges could affect their ability to provide affordable education to Nigerian families.

The representative urged the government to increase its investment in the institutions rather than concession them.

Another ministry staff member, identified as Uko, said the controversy was particularly serious because of the status of King’s College as a historic national institution.

He called for increased funding and rehabilitation of the school instead of transferring its management to private interests.

“Instead of handing these institutions over to private interests, the Federal Government should inject adequate funding and properly cater to teachers and staff,” he said.

Uko said King’s College had produced generations of Nigerians who went on to make contributions in different areas of national life.

He maintained that the government should preserve the institution as part of the country’s educational heritage.

The Joint Congress of Unions of the Federal Ministry of Education directed that the first-term academic session should not resume in the affected schools until further notice.

The directive covers Federal Government Colleges, Federal Government Boys’ Colleges, Federal Government Girls’ Colleges and Federal Technical Colleges.

However, the Federal Government has rejected the description of the arrangement as a sale or privatisation of King’s College.

Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, said the government had retained legal ownership of the institution.

According to the minister, the concession is a public-private partnership designed to allow the King’s College Old Boys’ Association to finance the rehabilitation, modernisation, operation and maintenance of the school.

He said the Federal Government would continue to retain its statutory, regulatory, monitoring, inspection and enforcement responsibilities over the institution.

The King’s College Old Boys’ Association has also maintained that the arrangement does not amount to the sale of the school.