Workers in the 115 Federal Unity Colleges have refused to resume for the 2026/2027 academic session despite a Federal Government directive ordering schools to reopen nationwide.
The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria and the Joint Congress of Unions of the Federal Ministry of Education said the boycott would continue until the government suspends its concession of King’s College, Lagos, to the King’s College Old Boys’ Association. The unions said students were unable to resume as workers kept the school gates shut.
The dispute followed a September 4 directive from the Ministry of Education ordering the immediate handover of King’s College to KCOBA after a concession agreement was concluded. The ministry said a transition committee would oversee the handover within six months, after which Federal Government funding for the college would cease.
However, Education Minister Tunji Alausa said the arrangement did not amount to a sale or privatisation of the 117-year-old institution. He said the government retained legal ownership and oversight, while KCOBA would take responsibility for financing, rehabilitation, modernisation, operation and maintenance under the concession.
The unions rejected the explanation, arguing that the arrangement could create a precedent for other Federal Unity Colleges to be transferred to private interests. They also alleged that the ministry ignored an earlier committee involving union and ministry officials that was expected to develop solutions to infrastructure challenges at King’s College and other unity schools.
King’s College PTA Chairman Peter Oluwaleye said the boycott had the support of unity colleges nationwide, with union members monitoring compliance. He said the dispute had also extended beyond the schools, with the unions planning to shut the Federal Ministry of Education in Abuja, while a KCOBA member described the concession as a public-private partnership designed to rehabilitate and modernise the college.
Meanwhile, schools across the country reopened on Monday for the new academic session, with parents purchasing textbooks and other supplies ahead of resumption. Private school operators have also defended reported 10 to 30 per cent fee increases, citing higher costs of fuel, transportation, rent, infrastructure, learning materials and teachers’ salaries.
