King’s College Row: Labour Suspends Strike After Agreement with Alausa

The industrial action by labour unions in the Federal Ministry of Education has been suspended following a five-point agreement reached with the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, over the controversial management arrangement involving King’s College, Lagos.

The agreement was reached at the end of a meeting between Alausa and the unions on Wednesday.

Under the resolution, the unions agreed to immediately suspend the industrial action, while the ministry assured workers that no staff member would be victimised for participating in the protest.

The parties also agreed to pause for two weeks the commencement of the proposed takeover arrangement involving the King’s College Old Boys Association (KCOBA). The pause is expected to allow further consultations and negotiations on the agreement.

The meeting further resolved that policemen deployed to the premises of King’s College would be redeployed.

A seven-member committee will also be constituted to review and negotiate the Federal Government’s agreement with the old students’ association.

The resolution followed growing opposition from labour unions to the proposed management arrangement, which the Federal Government has said is aimed at mobilising additional resources to rehabilitate and modernise the school without relinquishing government ownership.

The controversy had triggered industrial action and protests by workers in the ministry, with unions raising concerns over the future of teachers, possible fee increases, the role of the old students’ association and the deployment of security personnel to the school.

The Federal Government had earlier ruled out the sale or concession of any Federal Unity College, insisting that the King’s College arrangement would not lead to an increase in school fees or the loss of teachers’ jobs.

Alausa had said the arrangement was limited to King’s College and would not be extended to other Federal Unity Colleges.

“No. We’re not extending it. Government still has its responsibility,” he said.

The minister was also categorical that the Federal Government had no plan to sell any of the 115 Unity Colleges under its management.

“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.

Alausa explained that the proposed arrangement with KCOBA was designed to mobilise additional resources for the rehabilitation and modernisation of King’s College while retaining government ownership.

He said the decision followed concerns over the deteriorating state of infrastructure at the school, which he observed during an unannounced visit.

According to him, some hostels, bathrooms, classrooms, laboratories and other facilities were in poor condition.

He also disclosed that the school had 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.

The minister further raised security concerns over the use of part of the school premises as a paid car park, saying unrestricted access by members of the public posed risks to students. He said he subsequently directed that the arrangement be cancelled.

Alausa said KCOBA had expressed willingness to invest substantially in King’s College through a non-profit foundation. He said the association had also indicated that it would preserve merit-based admission and ensure that students from across the country continued to have access to the institution.

The minister added that KCOBA had claimed to have invested more than N2 billion in infrastructure and other support for the college over the years.

He said the Federal Government faced a major funding gap in rehabilitating the 115 Unity Colleges, noting that decades of accumulated infrastructure deficits could not be addressed immediately through government funding 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 said.

Alausa estimated that even N2 trillion would not be sufficient to address the infrastructure needs of all the Unity Colleges.

He said the government had therefore secured approval to repurpose about $20 million from a World Bank-supported programme for the comprehensive rehabilitation of selected Unity Colleges.

About 20 schools, he said, had been selected for the intervention, although the funding would cover schools across the country.

The minister said the estimated cost of rehabilitating Unity Colleges in the South-West alone was nearly N100 billion, making it necessary for the government to explore additional funding sources without relinquishing ownership of the institutions.

On concerns that the King’s College arrangement could lead to higher fees, Alausa said there would be no increase in school fees.

He said the agreement contained stringent key performance indicators designed to protect the interests of the government and students.

The ministry, he added, had established an implementation and monitoring team that would conduct unannounced inspections to ensure compliance with the terms of the agreement.

The Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, also assured that no teacher would lose his or her job as a result of the King’s College arrangement.

Ahmad said affected teachers had been given the opportunity to indicate where they wished to be redeployed in line with the Public Service Rules.

“There is no fee increase in this arrangement. It is part of the MoU we signed,” she said.

She added that the government was implementing teacher capacity-building programmes as part of efforts to improve the quality of education in Unity Colleges and other schools.

According to her, a committee had been established to review the Memorandum of Understanding and address concerns raised by stakeholders, while union representatives would also be included in another committee to monitor its implementation.

Ahmad said the government’s objective was to restore the quality and excellence historically associated with the Unity Colleges, noting that the decline in standards had occurred over several decades and would require sustained investment in infrastructure and teacher development.

She added that the government was exploring various public-private partnership models for rehabilitating Unity Colleges, citing the Kano model as one option under consideration.

With the latest agreement, the unions are expected to return to work while negotiations continue on the King’s College arrangement during the two week pause.