Fresh confusion has hit the Federal Government’s 117 Unity Colleges as a faction of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) has ordered an indefinite shutdown, defying the government’s directive for students to resume the 2026/2027 academic session on Sunday, September 20.

The latest development has deepened the lingering dispute between the Federal Ministry of Education and organised labour over the proposed 35-year concession of King’s College, Lagos, to the King’s College Old Boys Association (KCOBA), with parents now caught between conflicting directives from the government, unions and school authorities.

The Federal Government had, in a September 18 memo to principals of the Unity Colleges, directed that academic activities resume following the agreement it said was reached with the labour unions over the dispute.

In the memo with reference number FME/DSSE/SH/S.701/C.I/I, titled “Re: Resumption for 2026/2027 Academic Session,” the Ministry of Education said the original resumption date was September 13, 2026, but directed principals to ensure that students yet to return resumed on Sunday, September 20.

The correspondence, signed by the Director, Senior Secondary Education, Adeniji Ibrahim, stated: “I am directed to remind you that the resumption date for the 2026/2027 Academic Session was 13th September, 2026 and also inform you that the Ministry has reached an agreement with the Labour Unions, hence resumption of academic activities in all Federal Unity Colleges should commence.”

Consequently, the ministry directed principals to notify parents and guardians that students who were yet to return should resume on Sunday, September 20, while ensuring that relevant staff were available to receive them.

However, the directive is facing resistance from the Shehu Mohammed-led faction of ASCSN, with its Secretary General, Joshua Apebo, insisting that the industrial action remains in force until the issues in dispute are fully resolved.

In a September 18 letter to all state branch chairmen, chapter chairmen, unit chairmen of Federal Unity Colleges and state secretaries, the union accused the Ministry of Education of undermining the September 14 agreement reached with ASCSN and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), alleging that the ministry subsequently entered into a parallel agreement on September 16 with persons it said lacked the mandate and recognition of the association.

The letter, titled “Directive for Total and Indefinite Shutdown of All Federal Unity Colleges Nationwide,” ordered the immediate and indefinite shutdown of all Federal Unity Colleges across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. It directed members to halt academic and administrative activities, constitute monitoring teams to enforce compliance and disregard any counter directives from school authorities or Ministry officials, while maintaining solidarity and discipline across the union structure.

The union maintained that the shutdown would remain in force until its national leadership directs otherwise, arguing that the issues surrounding the concession dispute and the agreements reached with government had not been resolved.

Also, in a communiqué issued after an emergency virtual meeting of the zonal coordinators, the Mohammed-led faction of the association accused the Ministry of Education of failing to honour key aspects of the understanding reached with labour, particularly the constitution of the promised broad-based committee and release of documents relating to the King’s College concession.

The coordinators said: “Up till now, the committee of relevant stakeholders promised by the Minister has not been constituted almost a week after the meeting, and the relevant documents about the concessioning of King College, Lagos promised by the Minister have not been made available to the Union.”

They consequently rejected the announcement by the minister that the strike had been suspended, insisting that only the recognised leadership of the union could issue such a directive.

The Guardian gathered that the Unity Colleges are also caught in the wider dispute between the two ASCSN factions led by Innocent Bala-Audu and Shehu Mohammed. While the Bala-Audu-led faction has greater influence at the Federal Ministry of Education headquarters in Abuja, the Mohammed-led faction commands stronger support among workers in the Unity Colleges countywide, adding another layer to the confusion over the conflicting directives.

The effect of the disagreement was already becoming evident in some schools, as Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) of Federal Government Boys College, Apo;Federal Government College, Rubochi;Federal Government Girls’ College (FGGC), Abaji; Federal Government College, Warri; Federal Government Girls’ College, Sagamu; Federal Government Girls College, Bwari and Federal Government College, Onitsha, directed parents and guardians to keep their children and wards at home until further notice.

In separate notices seen by The Guardian, the PTAs of FGC Warri and FGGC Sagamu, advised parents to keep their children and wards at home, saying students should not resume until the ongoing dispute between the Federal Ministry of Education and the unions is resolved.

The FGCW PTA Chairman, Pastor Ray Asaboro, said ASCSN had directed an indefinite suspension of resumption in all Federal Unity Colleges nationwide, warning that teachers, housemasters and housemistresses, dining hall officers and other essential personnel would not be available for normal school activities.

Similarly, the FGGC Sagamu PTA said the proposed resumption date might not be feasible, stressing that the unions had maintained that the industrial action remained in force and that students should not return until it was officially called off and a new resumption date communicated.

Speaking on the development, the PTA Chairman, Federal Government College, Rubochi, Audu Sumaila, told newsmen that the school was unlikely to reopen on Sunday.

Sumaila said parents were prepared to comply with the union’s directive, given the conflicting developments surrounding the dispute. “With what is going on, I don’t think the school is going to open tomorrow,” he said.

Asked to clarify whether there would be resumption, Ismaila said: “No resumption till further notice.”

In the same vein, his counterpart at Federal Government Girls’ College (FGGC), Abaji, Umar Suleiman, advised parents and guardians not to send their children back to school until further notice.

In a message to parents, the PTA chairman said it was concerned about “conflicting information” from the Federal Ministry of Education and labour union leadership regarding the commencement of the 2026/2027 academic session.

He called on parents not to send their children back to school until clear guidance was received. “For now, there will be no school resumption until further notice,” the PTA boss said.

Efforts to get the reaction of the reaction of the Director, Press and Public Relations at the Ministry, Folasade Boriowo, proved abortive as she did not respond to phone calls and text messages sent to her as of the time of filing this report. (The Guardian)