By Felix Khanoba
Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, has ruled out the sale or concession of Federal Government Colleges (Unity Schools), while assuring that the proposed management arrangement for King’s College, Lagos, will not lead to an increase in school fees or the loss of teachers’ jobs.
Alausa, gave the assurance on Wednesday in Abuja while addressing journalists on the controversy surrounding the proposed partnership with the King’s College Old Boys Association (KCOBA).
Alausa said the arrangement was specific to King’s College and would not be extended to other Unity Colleges, stressing that the Federal Government remained responsible for the institutions.
“No. We’re not extending it. Government still has its responsibility,” he said.
The minister also rejected reports suggesting that the government planned to dispose of some of the Federal Unity Colleges.
“Let me be unequivocal, 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.
According to Alausa, the proposed arrangement with KCOBA is aimed at attracting additional resources for the rehabilitation and modernisation of King’s College without transferring ownership of the institution.
He said the initiative became necessary following the deterioration of infrastructure at the college and the need to restore the institution to the standard for which it was historically known.
The minister recalled that during an unannounced visit to the school, he observed poor conditions in some hostels, bathrooms, classrooms, laboratories and other facilities.
He said the college also experienced a prolonged electricity outage during his visit, prompting him to contact the relevant electricity distribution company, after which power was restored to the Senior Secondary School section.
Alausa further expressed concern over the use of part of the school premises as a commercial car park, warning that unrestricted access by members of the public could expose students to security risks. He said he subsequently ordered the cancellation of the arrangement.
The minister said KCOBA had indicated its readiness to commit substantial resources to the school through a non-profit foundation. According to him, the association also plans to preserve merit-based admission and ensure that students from different parts of the country continue to have access to the institution.
He added that KCOBA had claimed to have invested more than N2 billion in infrastructure support at King’s College over the years.
Alausa said the government was confronted with a huge funding shortfall in efforts to rehabilitate the country’s 115 Federal Unity Colleges, noting that the accumulated infrastructure deficit could not be eliminated immediately through government resources alone.
“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 estimated that as much as N2 trillion might still be insufficient to address the infrastructure requirements of all the Unity Colleges.
To supplement government funding, the minister disclosed that the Federal Government had obtained approval to repurpose about $20 million from a World Bank-supported programme towards the comprehensive rehabilitation of selected Unity Colleges.
He said about 20 schools had been identified for the intervention, with the funding expected to benefit institutions across the country.
Alausa noted that the estimated cost of rehabilitating Unity Colleges in the South-West alone was close to N100 billion, making it necessary for the government to consider alternative funding arrangements while retaining ownership of the institutions.
On concerns about school fees, the minister assured that the proposed King’s College arrangement would not result in any increase.
He said the agreement contained stringent Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) intended to safeguard the interests of both the government and students.
Alausa disclosed that the Ministry of Education had constituted an implementation and monitoring team that would conduct unannounced inspections at the school to ensure that the terms of the agreement were being followed.
He said the government remained willing to engage unions and consider legitimate concerns that could improve the arrangement.
The minister also called on journalists to visit the schools and independently assess their conditions before reporting on the controversy.
The Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, also assured that teachers would not lose their jobs as a result of the King’s College arrangement.
Ahmad said teachers affected by the arrangement had been allowed to indicate their preferred destinations for redeployment in accordance with the Public Service Rules.
She added that the government was implementing teacher capacity-building programmes as part of efforts to improve teaching and learning standards in Unity Colleges and other schools.
According to her, a committee had been set up to review the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and address concerns raised by stakeholders, while union representatives would also be included in a separate committee to monitor implementation.
” There is no fee increase in this arrangement. It is part of the MoU we signed.
“With the worker’s protest, we cannot meet with them when they have shut the ministry.
“Normalcy must return to the ministry if the unions want us to listen to them,” she said.
Ahmad said the government’s broader objective was to revive the quality and excellence traditionally associated with Unity Colleges, noting that years of infrastructure deficits and inadequate investment had contributed to the decline in standards.
She said reversing the trend would require sustained investment in infrastructure and teacher development.
The minister of state added that the government was considering different public-private partnership models for the rehabilitation of Unity Colleges, with the approach adopted in Kano among the options being examined.
Meanwhile, Alausa said the government had continued discussions with the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and other labour unions over the issues surrounding the schools.
He said the government reached a six-point agreement with the TUC leadership, following which a communiqué was issued urging workers to resume work.
However, he said another faction of the unions had continued its protest despite the engagement with the TUC.
According to Alausa, the government invited the faction for further discussions on the condition that ministry workers return to their offices and the gates of the ministry were not blocked.
He said the conditions were intended to guarantee the safety of government officials and ensure the maintenance of law and order.
The minister condemned alleged incidents of harassment of staff, destruction of property and obstruction of access to the ministry.
“We will not tolerate that as a government. We’ve given them all the room and scope to do their protest within the ambit of the law,” he said.
Alausa reiterated that the Federal Government would continue to engage the unions while implementing measures to tackle the infrastructure and management challenges confronting the Unity Colleges.
He maintained that the administration was committed to restoring the quality and reputation of the institutions while retaining them under government ownership.
