115 unity colleges remain shut as schools reopen nationwide

Workers in the Federal Unity Colleges have insisted that the institutions will remain shut despite the Federal Government’s directive for the schools to reopen.

This comes as many schools across the country reopen for the 2026/2027 academic session today.

The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, in conjunction with the Joint Congress of Unions of the Federal Ministry of Education, said the boycott of activities in the 115 federal unity colleges remained total until the government suspended the concession of King’s College, Lagos, to its old boys’ association.

The workers, in a statement on Sunday, made available to The PUNCH, said they would not be intimidated by the Federal Government’s directive or threats of administrative sanctions over their refusal to resume.

Students who were supposed to gain admission to the colleges were unable to gain entry, as the staff unions stood their ground and kept the gates shut.

“The directive for all workers to withdraw their services and boycott the resumption of all 115 Federal Unity Colleges remains total, absolute, and unchanged.

“Until that is done, the gates of all Federal Unity Colleges remain firmly shut,” the statement read.

The workers are protesting the Federal Government’s concession of King’s College to the King’s College Old Boys’ Association, arguing that the arrangement threatens the future of the Federal Unity School system.

The dispute followed the ministry’s September 4 letter directing the immediate handover of King’s College to KCOBA after the conclusion of the concession agreement.

The ministry said a transition committee had been constituted to complete the handover within six months, after which the Federal Government funding of the college would stop.

However, the Federal Government has maintained that King’s College has not been sold or privatised.

The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, in a statement on Saturday, said the government retained legal ownership of the 117-year-old institution, explaining that the concession only transferred responsibility for financing, rehabilitating, modernising, operating and maintaining the school to KCOBA.

“Let me assure Nigerians, particularly the King’s College community, that this concession is not a sale of King’s College.

“The government has retained legal title to the institution and will continue to exercise its oversight responsibilities,” Alausa said.

The minister also said the agreement protected the public character and national identity of the school, with admissions continuing under the applicable Unity College policies.

But the unions argued that the concession of King’s College could set a precedent for other Federal Unity Colleges, saying, “If they succeed with King’s College today, every other Federal Government College in Nigeria will be sold to private interests tomorrow.”

The unions further alleged that the Ministry of Education had disregarded an earlier committee set up to examine ways of addressing infrastructure deficits at King’s College and other Federal Unity Colleges.

They said the committee, which included ASCSN members and officials of the ministry, was expected to work out acceptable options for addressing the schools’ challenges before the ministry proceeded with the concession.

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Speaking with The PUNCH on Sunday, the Chairman of the King’s College Parent-Teacher Association, Peter Oluwaleye, affirmed the resolution of the staff union.

He said no student would resume because the teachers and other workers had withdrawn their services.

“No student is resuming. We have made it clear on our different platforms. No resumption until further notice,” he said.

Asked whether the boycott affected other federal unity colleges, Oluwaleye said, “All over the country, other unity colleges are standing in solidarity with us.”

He said union members were already at the schools monitoring compliance with the directive.

“They are there, union members are there now, and that is how they are all over the country,” he said.

The PTA chairman also said the dispute had moved beyond King’s College, with the unions planning to extend the protest to the Federal Ministry of Education in Abuja.

“As a matter of fact, it has extended beyond schools now. By tomorrow morning, the Ministry of Education Abuja will be shut down,” he said.

The workers said their action was not merely about staff welfare but was aimed at protecting public education.

“Our strike is not merely an industrial dispute over welfare; it is a patriotic battle to save public education,” the unions said.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a member of the King’s College Old Boys Association maintained that the arrangement was a public-private partnership aimed at rehabilitating and modernising the school.

He said the concession of King’s College to the old boys’ association was expected to operate under a public-private partnership arrangement, with a six-month transition period provided for the implementation of the deal.

He added that the transition period was expected to allow the parties to finalise the operational modalities for the concession before the new arrangement took full effect.

Meanwhile, schools in many parts of the country reopen today for the 2026/2027 academic session.

Prior to today’s resumption, parents have been visiting bookshops to purchase textbooks and other school materials, while pupils and students who travelled during the holidays have returned ahead of the new session.

The PUNCH had last week reported that parents were to face a 10-30 per cent hike in school fees this term.

Proprietors of private primary and secondary schools defended the increases, attributing them to rising operational costs, including fuel, transportation, rent, infrastructure, textbooks and teachers’ salaries.