Workers and trade union leaders at the Federal Ministry of Education on Monday protested in Abuja against the proposed concession of Federal Unity Colleges to private interests.
The protesters gathered at the ministry’s headquarters, displaying placards, chanting solidarity songs and demanding the immediate reversal of the concession plan, while vowing to sustain their industrial action until the Federal Government rescinds the proposal and provides increased funding for the schools.
The protest followed the ongoing dispute between the Federal Government and teachers’ unions over the planned concession of King’s College, Lagos, to private interests or its Old Boys’ Association.
The government’s proposal has triggered opposition from workers and other stakeholders in the education sector, who argued that transferring public schools to private entities could undermine their accessibility, affordability and role in promoting national unity.
Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria, a trade union leader at the ministry, Comrade Gali Habib, said the workers were protesting in solidarity with colleagues and stakeholders opposing the concession plan.
Habib said the protest was also aimed at protecting Federal Unity Colleges from policies that could undermine their public ownership and national integration objectives.
He described the colleges as institutions where children from less-privileged families access quality secondary education at subsidized rates.
According to him, the schools help bridge educational inequalities by bringing together children from different ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds.
“If you are selling these schools to private organizations, will the children of the poor be able to access quality education again? No,” he said.
Habib said while wealthy Nigerians could afford private education, many ordinary families depended on government-owned schools for affordable and quality secondary education.
He urged the Federal Government to reverse the concession plan and instead provide adequate funding for infrastructure, teachers’ welfare and other educational needs.
Habib said the union would sustain the industrial action until the government reversed the decision, stressing that workers were not part of any concession arrangement.
Another staff representative, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Federal Unity Colleges remained important platforms for national integration because children from different regions studied and interacted in the same environment.
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The worker said concessioning the schools could weaken that role and make quality secondary education less accessible to families unable to afford private school fees.
A senior ministry officer, who identified himself only as Uko for fear of possible victimization, said the protest was triggered by the proposed concession of King’s College, Lagos, to private interests or its Old Boys’ Association.
He urged the government to increase funding for the school, rehabilitate its infrastructure and improve the welfare of teachers and other workers.
Uko described King’s College as a national heritage institution that had contributed to the development of generations of Nigerians.
He said many former students of the institution had advanced academically and professionally after benefiting from opportunities provided by the school.
“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.
Another staff representative, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Unity Colleges should remain public institutions because of their importance to national integration and access to affordable secondary education.
The worker urged the Federal Government and other stakeholders to preserve the colleges as public institutions and national assets.
The Federal Unity Colleges visited by its correspondent in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, did not resume despite the Federal Government’s directive.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, had directed the schools to resume for the 2026/2027 academic session.
A NAN correspondent who visited some Federal Unity Colleges in the FCT observed that the schools remained deserted, with no students or teachers on the premises.
At the Federal Government Boys’ College, Apo, NAN observed inscriptions opposing the proposed concession prominently displayed at the school gate.
The development indicated that the school had joined other Unity Colleges resisting the planned concession of King’s College, Lagos.
The deserted premises contrasted with the minister’s resumption directive, as the dispute between the government and the unions remained unresolved.
NAN
