The Nigeria Union of Educators has criticised the Federal government’s choice to turn over the management of King’s College, Lagos, to the organization’s Old Boys’ Association, arguing that the move raises issues about the government’s obligation for supplying quality and accessible public education.
The National President of the NUT, Audu Amba, stated the proposed concession of the 117-year-old Federal Government-owned school was uncomfortable, particularly since King’s College is one of the country’s Unity Colleges.
Speaking to journalism on Thursday, Amba stated the federal government ought to continue to purchase and secure institutions established to promote nationwide integration rather than transfer their management to private interests.
He argued that the Unity Colleges were created as part of efforts to enhance nationwide cohesion, particularly in the years following the Nigerian Civil War.
Amba said, “It’s worrisome with this type of development. I do not understand how all of it took place, but the fundamental thing is that by so doing, it has even more depicted that the Federal Government is trying to shy away from its own duty of providing complimentary, qualitative and accessible education to all Nigerian children.”
According to him, the government has a duty to maintain the legacy of Unity Colleges and guarantee that children from various socio-economic backgrounds can continue to benefit from them.
He explained King’s College as an important sign of nationwide unity and stated the Federal Government need to be willing to provide the resources required to keep the organization.
Amba stated, “Unity King’s College, Lagos, is one of the symbols of our unity in this country. And it is anticipated that if there is any method that government requires to invest resources to be able to sustain the tradition of that institution, I believe it would not be overemphasised if government ought to do that.”
The NUT president also questioned the consultation procedure preceding the proposed concession, saying instructors and their agents were not adequately involved in the conversations.
He stated the government’s claim that stakeholders had actually been consulted was tough to fix up with the opposition coming from instructors straight associated with the operation of the school.
“If you say you have talked to stakeholders, and instructors are now coming out to say that they are not conscious and they do not desire it, so are they telling you they were welcomed? Naturally not,” he stated.
Amba included that even a possibly advantageous government policy might create resistance if those affected were not properly carried along before its application.
“Government may have a good policy, but not bring everyone along makes it look as if there is something beneath it that people are yet to comprehend what is in fact taking place. So that is why you see both teachers and moms and dads are saying no,” he stated.
He even more expressed concern that the concession could eventually lead to modifications in the school’s fee structure or other policies that may make gain access to harder for children from less privileged homes.
The union president said the NUT would maintain its opposition to the arrangement up until the concerns of teachers and other stakeholders were appropriately dealt with.
The union’s position contributes to the growing resistance to the proposed concession, which has actually already resulted in protests, industrial action and disturbance to the resumption of students in some Federal Unity Colleges.
An educationist, Helen Idiong, likewise called for higher openness from the federal government, stating the controversy had actually been gotten worse by the limited public access to information of the concession contract.
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Idiong urged the Federal Government to release the contract and establish a representative board involving relevant stakeholders to monitor its application.
She also stated the federal government required to deal with issues over school fees and offer clear assurances that the plan would not undermine equivalent access to King’s College.
She stated, “The significant issue is that there appears to be an absence of openness in the concession contract, which is creating fears from various stakeholders.”
According to her, wider assessment at the start of the process might have decreased the level of opposition now challenging the federal government.
“The first thing would have been to consult widely and act based upon input from stakeholders from the beginning. This would have been avoided now,” she stated.
Idiong stated transparent communication in between the government and impacted stakeholders stayed needed to fix the conflict.
The debate led the Federal government on Wednesday to suspend the application of the concession for 2 weeks following discussions in between the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, and agents of education-sector labour unions.
The celebrations likewise agreed to suspend the workers’ industrial action, withdraw authorities workers deployed to King’s College and develop a seven-member committee, with labour agents included, to review and work out the concession contract.
The Federal Government has actually consistently maintained that the arrangement does not involve the sale or privatisation of King’s College, stressing that ownership of the organization stays with the government.
Alausa stated the proposed concession was intended to attract additional financing for the rehabilitation and modernisation of the school while leaving ownership and government oversight undamaged.
The minister likewise mentioned that the government had no intent of applying the King’s College arrangement to other Unity Colleges and kept that the contract did not attend to an automated increase in school costs.
The decision to suspend application followed several days of protests including employees, moms and dads and other stakeholders, with stress eventually leading to a conflict at the school and the implementation of police personnel to the facilities.
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THE PUNCH