The Federal Ministry of Education and labour unions have reached a five-point agreement to ease the dispute over the proposed management arrangement for King’s College, Lagos.
The agreement was reached at a meeting involving the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, Minister of State for Education, Prof Suwaiba Ahmad, representatives of the Joint Workers Union and the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria in Abuja.
The development comes after days of protests and industrial action over the planned concession of the 117-year-old college to its Old Boys’ Association.
Under the agreement, the labour unions are to immediately suspend the industrial action linked to the King’s College arrangement.
The parties also agreed that no staff member would be victimized or subjected to punitive measures for participating in the industrial action.
The Federal Government further agreed to pause the commencement of the proposed takeover of the college by the King’s College Old Boys Association, KCOBA, for two weeks.
The two-week window is expected to provide room for further discussions between the government and the unions over the terms and implications of the proposed arrangement.
Another resolution reached at the meeting was the redeployment of policemen from the premises of King’s College to help create a conducive atmosphere for dialogue and prevent further confrontation between the parties.
The meeting also agreed to establish a seven-member committee to examine and negotiate the Federal Government’s agreement with KCOBA.
The committee is expected to review the terms of the agreement, consider concerns raised by the labour unions and address outstanding issues surrounding the proposed management arrangement.
The latest agreement follows an escalation of the dispute on Tuesday, when workers at King’s College, Lagos, prevented representatives of KCOBA from entering the school premises.
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The confrontation occurred after the Federal Government directed the resumption of activities at Federal Unity Colleges and amid opposition to the proposed concession.
The dispute had earlier widened beyond King’s College after the Joint Workers Union directed that the resumption of students in Federal Unity Colleges be suspended over the proposed concession.
The directive affected more than 100 Federal Unity Colleges nationwide, with the first-term session initially scheduled to begin on September 12.
The Trade Union Congress subsequently suspended the planned shutdown after a meeting with the education minister on September 14, allowing a committee to examine the concerns raised by the unions.
The unions have raised concerns over the proposed transfer of management responsibilities for King’s College to its old students, with some workers describing the arrangement as a concession or privatization of a Federal Government-owned institution.
The Federal Government, however, has maintained that King’s College is not being sold or privatized. According to the ministry, legal ownership of the institution remains with the Federal Government, while KCOBA would assume responsibilities for financing, rehabilitating, modernizing, operating and maintaining the school under a public-private partnership framework.
The government has also said the arrangement is intended to address infrastructure and funding challenges at the 117-year-old institution.
The agreement provides for government oversight through monitoring, inspections, performance indicators and other regulatory mechanisms.
Education Minister Alausa also clarified on Wednesday that the proposed management model for King’s College would not be extended to other Federal Unity Colleges. He said the government would retain responsibility for the other institutions.
The government has separately assured stakeholders that the proposed arrangement does not provide for an automatic increase in school fees, while stating that the concession is intended to mobilize additional resources for the rehabilitation and long-term sustainability of the college.
With the implementation now paused for two weeks and the unions suspending their industrial action, attention will shift to the seven-member committee and its review of the KCOBA agreement.
The resolutions are expected to provide a temporary framework for dialogue between the Federal Government, labour unions and other stakeholders as efforts continue to resolve the disagreement over the future management of King’s College.
NAN
