King’s College dispute: Unity Colleges resume

Academic activities at Unity Colleges resume today following last week’s suspension of the strike called by the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria over the concession of King’s College, Lagos.

While day students arrive at their various schools today, boarding students began arriving on Sunday.

Principals had, at the weekend, sent out notices welcoming students for the new session.

One of them read, “A new term, a new beginning. Happy resumption.

“I welcome you all, the management, staff, students and parents, to the 2026/2027 academic session.

“May this session bring every student greater confidence, deeper knowledge, excellent results and memorable achievements.”

Boarding students were also sighted arriving at Unity Colleges in Lagos.

The students of Unity Colleges are resuming for the new session at least two weeks after other students resumed the 2026/2027 session on September 13.

The resumption was delayed over the staff union’s rejection of the Federal Government’s concession of King’s College to the Old Boys Association.

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The union, alongside the Parent-Teacher Association, subsequently directed Unity Colleges nationwide to stand in solidarity with King’s College and shun resumption.

The impasse assumed another dimension when the King’s College Old Boys, amid police presence, defied the protesting staff, who blocked entry, to make their way into the college.

The tension aggravated the impasse, with the staff union demanding that the Federal Government order the police away from King’s College.

Amid the tension, the Federal Government paused the King’s College concession, setting up a seven-man committee to review the concession document for King’s College.

The dispute over the King’s College concession intensified after the Federal Ministry of Education, in a September 4 letter, directed the immediate handover of King’s College to KCOBA following the conclusion of the concession agreement.

On September 16, the Federal Government and organised labour reached an agreement to put the implementation of the King’s College concession on hold for two weeks.

The ASCSN had maintained that the concession of King’s College threatened the future of the Federal Unity College system.

However, the government maintained that the arrangement was not a sale or privatisation of King’s College.

The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, said the government retained legal ownership of the 117-year-old institution, while KCOBA would be responsible for financing, rehabilitating, modernising, operating and maintaining the school.