UNITY SCHOOLS SHUTDOWN: UNIONS STRIKE OVER ALLEGED PRIVATIZATION OF KING’S COLLEGE

UNITY SCHOOLS SHUTDOWN: UNIONS STRIKE OVER ALLEGED PRIVATIZATION OF KING’S COLLEGE

Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa

Olufemi Odeyemi— Academic activities across all Federal Unity Colleges in Nigeria have been thrown into jeopardy following a joint resolution by civil service and education unions to commence an indefinite nationwide strike, halting the resumption of the First Term academic session.

The nationwide industrial action follows the expiration of a three-day ultimatum issued to the Federal Ministry of Education by the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN). The crisis stems from a directive issued by the Ministry instructing the Principal of King’s College, Lagos, to hand over the administration of the historic institution to the King’s College Old Boys Association (KCOBA)—a move the unions have strongly condemned as a backdoor privatization of public heritage.

In a formal letter addressed to the Honourable Minister of Education on September 8, 2026, signed by ASCSN Headquarters Chapter Chairman Comrade Sampson Chigozie Ngadi and Secretary Comrade Polycarp Christopher, the union expressed deep concern and strong objection to the proposed transaction.

"Our position is simple: an injury to one is an injury to all. What affects King’s College today could affect another Federal Unity School tomorrow," the letter read. "Federal Unity Schools are national heritage institutions and should not be sold or transferred through any backdoor arrangement. Any decision concerning their future must be transparent, properly constituted, consultative and demonstrably in the public interest."

The ASCSN letter outlined five key demands, calling for the immediate suspension of any handover directives, the urgent reconvening of a broad-based stakeholder dialogue, and firm guarantees that no Unity School nationwide will be concessioned or privatized without due process and public scrutiny.

Following the Ministry’s failure to reverse its stance within the three-day window, the Joint Workers Committee (JWC) of Unions in the Federal Ministry of Education issued a follow-up communiqué on September 10, 2026, officially ordering the immediate suspension of school resumption nationwide.

The JWC communiqué, directed to parents, guardians, Parent-Teacher Associations (PTA), and School-Based Management Committees (SBMC), declared: "Resumption for the First Term academic session, earlier slated for Saturday this week, in all Federal Unity Colleges across the country... has been SUSPENDED NATIONWIDE UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. No resumption shall take place in any Federal Unity College across the Federation until this matter is satisfactorily resolved and the planned sale/concession of King’s College, Lagos, is reversed."

The Joint Congress further revealed that the Minister of Education had persistently refused to grant union leaders an audience over the past month, leaving workers with no option but to withdraw their services in defense of public education. The union has called on major organized labor bodies, including the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), and the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), to join in solidarity to resist the commercialization of public education.

Copies of the ASCSN petition were also transmitted to the Senate Committee on Basic and Secondary Education, the Director of Human Resource Management, the Director of Senior Secondary Education, the PTA Chairman of King's College Lagos, KCOBA, and the Unity Schools Old Students Association (USOSA).

As millions of students and parents face indefinite delay in returning to school, pressure mounts on the Federal Ministry of Education to reopen negotiations and avert a prolonged collapse of the nation's secondary education system.