The Federal Government has dismissed reports that it plans to sell the nation’s Unity Colleges, saying the concession of King’s College, Lagos, to its Old Boys Association is a specific intervention aimed at restoring the institution’s lost glory.
Minister of Education, Dr Olatunji Alausa, who stated this at a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, said the government had no intention of selling or transferring ownership of any of the Unity Colleges to private interests.
He explained that the management agreement involving King’s College was designed to allow the school’s Old Boys Association to invest heavily in infrastructure and restore the institution to its former standard, while ownership of the property would remain with the Federal Government.
Alausa, who was accompanied by the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, said the press conference was convened to clarify what he described as misinformation surrounding the agreement with the King’s College Old Boys Association (KCOBA).
He said: ‘Federal Government is not selling any Unity College. The 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.’
While lamenting the high level of dilapidation of the Unity Colleges across the country, the Minister said the government had opted for an innovative approach because of the huge infrastructure deficit confronting the Unity Colleges and the limited resources available to government.
He said even a release of ?2 trillion would not be sufficient to address the accumulated infrastructure decay across Unity Colleges nationwide.
Alausa said the condition of some of the schools became evident during unannounced inspection visits carried out by him and the Minister of State.
He said the situation he encountered at King’s College, particularly its old campus, exposed the extent of deterioration in hostels, classrooms, laboratories, toilets, dining facilities and other infrastructure.
The minister said the school had at a point gone for nine months without electricity before intervention by the government.
He also criticised the use of portions of the school premises as a public car park, saying such an arrangement raised serious security concerns for students.
Alausa said the government had subsequently directed that the car-parking arrangement be discontinued.
He explained that the decision to engage the King’s College Old Boys Association followed its willingness to invest significant resources in rehabilitating and repositioning the institution without increasing fees.
According to him, the alumni association already has a foundation that would manage the institution on a not-for-profit basis.
He said the arrangement was not an abdication of government responsibility, noting that the government would retain ownership of the school and monitor the implementation of agreed performance indicators.
‘The property still remains Federal Government property. The Federal Ministry of Education has given clear KPIs to meet,’ he said.
Alausa also cited the experience of former mission schools and some institutions managed by alumni associations as examples of how private or alumni-supported management could help restore schools to their former standards without transferring ownership.
The Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, explained that the management concession granted in respect of King’s College would run for 35 years.
She said the duration was necessary to enable the concessionaire to make the level of investment required to rehabilitate the institution and achieve sustainable results.
Ahmad stressed that the arrangement should not be interpreted as a sale of the school or a precedent for concessioning all Unity Colleges.
She said the Federal Government was not extending the King’s College arrangement to other Unity Colleges.
The minister said a short-term concession would not provide sufficient time for an investor or alumni body to commit the level of resources required to transform an institution with decades of accumulated infrastructure challenges.
Alausa also disclosed that President Bola Tinubu had approved the recruitment of 3,000 teachers this year, with the government working to absorb existing PTA teachers into the public teaching system where appropriate.
He said the government planned to recruit an additional 5,000 teachers next year as part of efforts to address the shortage of teachers in federal schools.
The minister said the administration was also committed to rehabilitating infrastructure in the schools while addressing concerns raised by staff unions.
On the protest by education-sector unions over the King’s College arrangement, Alausa condemned the blockade of the Ministry of Education, saying workers had the right to protest but must do so within the law.
He said the government had already reached a six-point agreement with the Trade Union Congress and other stakeholders, adding that the ministry remained open to dialogue.
He, however, said the government would not tolerate the alleged obstruction of access to the ministry, damage to property or intimidation of workers.
Alausa maintained that the government’s objective was to restore the quality, discipline and unity that characterised institutions such as King’s College when they were established to train future leaders.
He said the government would continue to explore partnerships that could attract additional resources to the education sector without relinquishing ownership of public institutions.