The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to reject any move to transfer Federal Government Colleges, popularly known as Unity Schools, to private interests.

It insisted that the institutions should remain affordable centres of learning and symbols of national unity.

In an open letter to the President, the union said millions of Nigerians want the unity schools to continue serving children, irrespective of their ethnic, social or economic backgrounds, urging Tinubu not to yield to pressure from Old Boys’ Associations and other private interests seeking to take over the schools under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement.

The association, however, vowed to seek legal redress if dialogue with the Federal Government fails to halt the planned concession of the nation’s Federal Government Colleges, insisting that the schools must remain public institutions.

The union warned that ceding the schools to private operators could result in higher tuition fees and expose education workers to job losses.

National Vice President of ASCSN, Olubunmi Fajobi, while speaking yesterday, during a media briefing at King’s College, Lagos, appealed to Nigerians to join the union in opposing what it described as an attempt to cede the 120 unity schools to private individuals.

Fajobi said that while alumni associations are free to support their alma mater through donations, the renovation of facilities, and the provision of modern learning technologies, such interventions should not result in the takeover of the management of public schools.

He said the union would continue to engage the government through constructive dialogue but warned that if all efforts failed, it would be compelled to pursue other lawful options, including litigation.

He, therefore, urged progressive politicians, religious and traditional leaders, civil society groups and other stakeholders to support efforts to prevent the schools from being transferred to private interests, saying that such a move would make quality education inaccessible to children from low-income families through increased school fees.

According to him, there were also fears that private investors could eventually convert the schools and their vast land into commercial ventures, such as hotels and shopping malls for profit.

He said that individuals or old boys associations that are interested in running secondary schools should establish their own institutions instead of taking over Federal Government Colleges, which it described as symbols of national unity and integration.

The association expressed confidence that the President would preserve the schools for future generations, saying that such a decision would align with his progressive credentials and leave a lasting legacy in Nigeria’s education sector.