The crisis surrounding the proposed concession of King’s College, Lagos, has intensified as the Joint Workers Union of the Federal Ministry of Education rejected the suspension of industrial action announced by the Trade Union Congress (TUC).
The workers vowed to continue their protest and oppose the resumption of activities at Federal Unity Colleges across the country unless the Federal Government reverses the concessioning arrangement.
The unions warned that the ministry’s headquarters would remain shut, while workers would also prevent activities from resuming in the affected Federal Unity Colleges if the government fails to withdraw the plan.
LEADERSHIP also gathered that Federal Unity Schools in the Federal Capital Territory remained closed yesterday despite assurances from the Ministry of Education that the dispute would be addressed.
Speaking during the protest, Chairman of the Joint Council, Abraham Onuche, said the unions were demanding an immediate reversal of the King’s College concession and proper consultation with workers and other relevant stakeholders before any such decision is implemented.
The dispute has also worsened over the alleged failure of the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, to meet with the unions to discuss issues affecting workers and the administration of Federal Unity Colleges.
Onuche argued that the TUC did not have the authority to suspend the industrial action because it was not part of the unions leading the protest.
“TUC never came here for one day to listen to us, our demands. How could TUC now go for a meeting and now call off a strike that they were not part of?” he asked.
He said the unions had written to Alausa on July 6 requesting a meeting over their concerns, but that the minister had yet to meet with them.
Onuche also questioned the implications of the Federal Government’s approval to recruit more than 3,000 Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) staff, particularly for teachers who could be affected by the proposed concession of King’s College.
“I want to thank President Bola Tinubu for giving the Federal Ministry of Education a waiver to employ more than 3,000 PTA staff.
“In one of the circulars that we read, it was stated that those teachers in King’s College who can no longer stay because of this concessioning issue can now go back to other schools within Lagos.
“Now that they have given that waiver for this employment, and this is coming, where do you now want these people to go and work?” he asked.
According to Onuche, the unions’ immediate demand was for the minister to cancel the concession of King’s College and prevent similar arrangements from being introduced in other Federal Unity Colleges.
“Our demand now is one, that the minister should revoke that decision concerning King’s College and other schools,” Onuche said.
He warned that proceeding with the concession could create a precedent that would encourage old students’ associations of other Federal Unity Colleges to seek similar arrangements for their former schools.
“If that King’s College goes, as we follow in law, that’s what they call precedent. That means old boys have set a precedent,” he said.
Onuche also questioned how teachers affected by the proposed arrangement would be accommodated, especially following the government’s approval for the recruitment of more than 3,000 PTA workers.
He said the unions had several other grievances, including concerns about stagnation among education officers and other issues affecting ministry employees. However, he noted that the King’s College concession remained their immediate priority.
Onuche said the protest would continue until the Federal Government reversed the decision, warning that the ministry’s headquarters and affected Federal Unity Colleges would remain closed if the issue was not resolved.
Also speaking, Chairman of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), Federal Ministry of Education chapter, Chigozie Ngadi, said the protest was intended to protect access to quality education for children from less privileged families.
Ngadi described King’s College as a national asset and expressed concern that concessioning the institution could make it less accessible to children from poorer backgrounds.
He also alleged that police personnel had been deployed to the school, describing the move as an attempt to intimidate workers.
“We are speaking for Nigerians. We are speaking for downtrodden Nigerians to have access to good education,” he said. “We’re only demanding that poor children should have access to King’s College and quality education.
“The old boys’ association should give back to that society that made them what they are and not take from it.”
Ngadi stressed that the unions were not against partnerships designed to improve infrastructure and facilities in public schools.
However, he said any arrangement must preserve public ownership and ensure that children from less privileged backgrounds continue to have access to quality education.
The unions maintained that the King’s College dispute must be resolved before they would consider their other grievances, insisting that the government engage them in meaningful dialogue and reverse the concessioning decision.
