The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) has warned against renewed moves to privatise Federal Government colleges, popularly known as unity schools, saying such a policy would put quality secondary education beyond the reach of millions of Nigerian children.
Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday at King’s College, Lagos, the National Vice-President of ASCSN, Olubunmi Fajobi, said the union would resist any attempt to hand over the country’s 120 unity schools to private individuals, organisations or old students’ associations.
Fajobi described the schools as national assets established to promote unity and integration among Nigerians, stressing that privatisation would undermine their founding objectives.
According to him, concessioning the schools would lead to higher tuition fees, deny children from low-income families access to quality education, and expose thousands of teachers and other education workers to job losses.
He recalled that the union had, on July 1, urged the Federal Government to abandon plans to concession the schools, insisting that individuals or organisations interested in running secondary schools should establish their own institutions rather than take over public schools.
Fajobi said the latest intervention was prompted by claims by the King’s College Old Boys’ Association (KCOBA) that the college had been concessioned to the association.
“If the old boys claim the school has been ceded to them, what template have they designed to cater for the students and employees of the college?” he asked.
The ASCSN vice-president also recalled a similar attempt to concession unity schools under a public-private partnership arrangement in 2005 during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
He said the policy was successfully resisted by the union, alongside students, parents, civil society organisations, religious leaders, traditional rulers and other stakeholders through sustained dialogue, industrial actions and legal action.
According to Fajobi, stability returned to the unity school system in 2010 when the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan restored the junior secondary school component that had earlier been separated from the system.
He noted that unity schools were established by Nigeria’s first Prime Minister, the late Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, to foster national integration by bringing together children from diverse ethnic, religious and social backgrounds.
“The least the present generation can do is preserve these institutions as a lasting legacy of national unity instead of turning them over to private entrepreneurs,” he said.
Fajobi warned that beyond increasing school fees, privatisation could also result in school facilities and large portions of school land being converted into commercial ventures such as hotels and shopping malls.
He appealed to political leaders, religious and traditional rulers, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to support efforts to preserve unity schools as public institutions.
While reaffirming the union’s commitment to dialogue with the Federal Government, he said ASCSN would not hesitate to seek legal redress if necessary.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the ASCSN, King’s College Unit, Samuel Enang, described the proposed concession of the college as “barbaric.”
Enang argued that members of KCOBA, who benefitted from free education at the institution, should not seek to take over its management for private interests.
He maintained that the association could not point to any major infrastructure it had provided at either the college’s main campus or annex to justify assuming control of the school.
“You cannot see any building or major structure in King’s College that was erected by the old boys. What they mostly do is repaint buildings, repair leaking roofs or carry out minor maintenance works,” he said.
According to him, such interventions are insufficient to justify concessioning the college.
He added that the union would continue to oppose any policy capable of making quality education unaffordable for ordinary Nigerians.
The spokesperson for the Parents Community of King’s College Lagos, Olatunji Ojulari, also rejected any move to hand the school over to private interests.
Ojulari said concessioning the college would significantly increase the cost of education and make it unaffordable for many Nigerian families.
He appealed to the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, to intervene and ensure that King’s College remains a public institution accessible to all Nigerians.
He also urged the Federal Government to invest in modern infrastructure and learning facilities to improve teaching and learning rather than concession the school.
Source:NAN
