The proposed 35-year concession of the 117-year-old King’s College, Lagos, to the school’s Old Boys Association (KCOBA) has triggered a wider battle over the future of Nigeria’s Federal Unity Colleges, OWEDE AGBAJILEKE reports.

These are not the best of times for the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa. His decision to concession King’s College, Lagos, to its Old Boys Association has ignited a fierce battle with workers, parents, students and other stakeholders, raising fresh questions over the future of Nigeria’s Federal Unity Colleges.

What began as a plan to introduce a new management model for one of Nigeria’s most prestigious secondary schools has snowballed into a wider confrontation over public education, government’s responsibility to fund and manage its schools, and the growing role of private and alumni interests in the sector.

At the heart of the dispute is the proposed 35-year concession of the school to the King’s College Old Boys Association (KCOBA), ostensibly to improve the institution’s infrastructure and management.

Rather than ease concerns over the school’s future, the proposal has opened a fresh row between the Federal Ministry of Education and its workers, with unions shutting down activities across the ministry and Federal Unity Colleges until the government reverses its actions.

Founded on September 20, 1909, King’s College, Lagos, is Nigeria’s oldest government secondary school. Modelled after elite British public schools such as Eton College, it was established to provide elite education for the sons of Nigerian chiefs and leaders.

Over 117 years, the institution has produced a formidable list of Nigerians who have occupied influential positions in politics, law, business and the creative industry.

Its alumni include former Vice-President Alex Ekwueme; former Biafran leader, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu; former Lagos State Governor, Lateef Jakande; former Central Bank Governor and Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi; former Senate President, Bukola Saraki; former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Adetokunbo Ademola; and music producer and songwriter, Cobhams Asuquo, among others.

Often described as the Eton of Nigeria, the school has nevertheless suffered the same infrastructure challenges that have bedevilled many public institutions.

Under the proposed public-private partnership, KCOBA is expected to finance, rehabilitate and manage facilities, including hostels, laboratories, classrooms and other infrastructure.

The funding argument behind the arrangement is not entirely new in Nigeria’s education sector, as several state governments have, in recent years, returned mission-owned schools to their original religious proprietors, formerly insisting that government alone has struggled to fund and maintain the institutions.

The King’s College proposal, however, presents a different model. KCOBA is not the original proprietor of the school in the same sense as the missions that established some of the country’s historic schools. Rather, it is an alumni body being given a long-term management role in a federal institution, with the capacity to mobilise private resources for its development.

To show its financial strength, KCOBA has unveiled a proposed N100 billion endowment fund to support the revitalisation of the school, including infrastructure, teacher development, digital transformation, scholarships and student welfare.

The development highlights the financial attraction of the concession, but also raises a fundamental question: if alumni can mobilise substantial resources to rebuild the school, does management also have to be transferred to them for 35 years?

That question lies at the heart of the wider debate over public education. Supporters of the concession argued that the government should leverage private and alumni resources to rescue institutions suffering from years of inadequate funding.

Opponents, however, maintained that the government can retain ownership and management, while allowing KCOBA to provide financial and technical support, just as alumni associations have done in many public schools.

The government has insisted that the arrangement will not fundamentally alter the character of the institution. According to Alausa, admissions will continue under the federal government’s policy for unity colleges, with entry determined through the National Common Entrance Examination. He has also assured that the concession will not compromise the interests of teachers and other workers.

The minister said a staff transition framework had been developed to clarify the status and future of personnel affected by the new management structure, and provide measures to protect their interests during the transition.

The assurances, however, have failed to win over the workers. Under the aegis of the Joint Workers Committee of Unions (JWC), more than 17,000 workers have shut down the Federal Ministry of Education headquarters and over 100 unity colleges nationwide in protest against the proposal.

The dispute has now moved beyond King’s College, with the unions challenging the ministry’s handling of the process and insisting that no unity college should resume for the first term until their grievances are resolved.

In a notice dated September 11, 2026, and addressed to principals and unit chairmen of Federal Unity Colleges, the JWC reaffirmed its earlier “no resumption” directive and ordered its members to ensure strict compliance.

The committee warned that any directive by Alausa ordering the schools to reopen would not change its position unless the matter was first addressed through the established labour-management channel.

“The JWC further wishes to state unequivocally that any purported press release, counter directive, or subsequent communication attributed to the Minister of Education, concerning resumption shall not alter the position of the JWC unless the matter is appropriately addressed and communicated through the established labour management channel,” it said.

The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), which represents teachers and other workers in the affected institutions, also directed its members not to report for boarding students’ check-in at the weekend.

The directive was complied with across the affected schools, leaving many boarding students unable to return to their schools. The union cited the unavailability of textbooks and raised fresh questions about the colleges’ preparedness for the new academic session.

The notices were signed by JWC Chairman, Comrade Onuche Abraham; ASCSN Chairman, Ngadi Sampson; Nigeria Civil Service Union (NCSU) Chairman, Ojelabi Ademola; and Chairman, Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE), Ejike George.

Beyond the immediate dispute, workers are increasingly worried that King’s College could be the first in a series of Federal Unity Colleges to be concessioned.

A source told The Guardian that the Federal Government Academy, Suleja, formerly known as Suleja Academy, had already been identified as the next institution to be concessioned. The source claimed that a draft concession agreement for the 36-year-old institution had been prepared, fuelling fears among workers that the government may be pursuing a wider concession policy for federal schools.

Meanwhile, parents and students are bearing the immediate consequences of the confrontation. The industrial action has disrupted the commencement of the first term academic session in all Federal Unity Colleges, leaving families uncertain about when their wards will resume.

Findings revealed that the disruption has been particularly painful for boarding students, whose parents had already made arrangements and, in some cases, travelled long distances to return their children to school.

Florence Ewata, a mother of two students at Federal Technical College, Otukpo, Benue State, said the uncertainty had left families confused and anxious about the new academic session.

She also expressed concern that handing over the management of federal government schools to investors could eventually lead to higher fees and other charges, making the institutions inaccessible to ordinary Nigerian families.

Ewata said parents needed guarantees that reforms would not impose additional financial burdens on families or gradually transform affordable public schools into institutions accessible only to the wealthy.

Another parent, Layo Adeyemi, said families had been left in limbo. “We are confused. Even my kids are not happy about it. There are no teachers to check them in, and our Parent Teacher Association (PTA) Chairman sent a message that our children shouldn’t resume till further notice,” she said.

For the students, the dispute has become yet another interruption to their education.

Ahmed Shehu, a student of Federal Technical College, Orozo, said it was unfair for students to bear the consequences of the disagreement between the government and workers after spending several weeks at home during the long holiday.

“We still don’t know how this will end. It’s not nice that after the long holidays, we’re still stuck here, while our mates have already started academic activities,” he said.

Shehu appealed to the government and unions to resolve the dispute quickly, warning that prolonged disruption could affect students’ academic performance and preparations for examinations.

The controversy has also drawn the attention of civil society organisations.

The Education Rights Campaign (ERC) condemned the proposed concession, describing it as an “attack on public education” and demanding its immediate reversal.

In a statement signed by its Deputy National Coordinator, Ogunjimi Isaac, and National Mobilisation Officer, Adaramoye Michael Lenin, the group argued that the solution to King’s College’s challenges was adequate government funding, rather than concession.

It said KCOBA could continue to support the institution through donations for infrastructure, facilities and personnel without taking over its management.

The group backed the workers’ action and called for the mobilisation of students, teachers, workers, parents, civil society organisations and members of the public against the concession.

It also urged the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), and ASCSN to take action against the policy, warning that the concessioning of King’s College could set a precedent for similar arrangements in other government-owned schools, including tertiary institutions.

The ERC further argued that the controversy had exposed the deeper crisis of underfunding in public education and called for increased government investment and democratic management of schools, with teachers, workers, parents and students represented in decision-making.

For the government, the concession is a proposed solution to years of infrastructure decay and management challenges at King’s College. For the workers and other opponents, it represents a potentially dangerous shift in the management of public education. The immediate casualty, however, is the student.

As the government and unions dig in, thousands of children remain caught in the middle, uncertain about when they will return to their classrooms. What happens next could determine not only the fate of King’s College, but also whether concession becomes a new model for managing Nigeria’s Federal Unity Colleges.