Seven days after Federal Unity Colleges were due to reopen for the new academic session, most of the 117 schools remain shut.

There is no resolution yet to the dispute between the Federal Government and a faction of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) over the planned concession of King’s College, Lagos.

The faction has resolved to continue its strike.

This is despite a directive by the Federal Ministry of Education that students who had yet to return should resume on Sunday, September 20, for the 2026/2027 academic session.

The ASCSN faction, led by Shehu Mohammed, directed its members to continue the strike until the government addresses its concerns over the proposed concession.

It announced the decision in a communiqué issued after an emergency virtual meeting of its zonal coordinators.

The communiqué was signed by coordinators representing the six geopolitical zones and Lagos.

The union rejected reports that the strike had been suspended.

It said, “No reversal of King’s College Lagos concessioning, no resumption. The ongoing strike continues.”

The zonal coordinators said the decision followed their review of the outcome of the September 17 meeting between the union and the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa.

They alleged that the ministry had failed to implement key understandings reached at the meeting.

These included the setting up of a broad-based committee involving relevant stakeholders and the release of documents on the proposed concession for scrutiny.

The union also rejected any announcement suggesting that the strike had been suspended.

It insisted that only its recognised leadership had the authority to issue directives on the industrial action.

The development has further complicated the government’s resumption directive.

It has also left parents uncertain about whether the schools have enough staff and facilities to receive students.

The Federal Ministry of Education had, in a September 18 memo to principals of Federal Unity Colleges, directed the schools to commence academic activities.

The memo was signed by the Director of Senior Secondary Education, Adeniji Ibrahim.

It stated that the original resumption date for the 2026/2027 academic session was September 13.

However, principals were directed to ensure that students who had yet to return resumed on Sunday, September 20.

The ministry also asked school authorities to notify parents and guardians and ensure that relevant staff were available to receive the students.

The Mohammed-led ASCSN faction had earlier issued a directive for the total and indefinite shutdown of all Federal Unity Colleges across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

In a September 18 letter to union officials, the association directed members to suspend academic and administrative activities, establish monitoring teams to enforce compliance and disregard counter-directives from school authorities or ministry officials.

The union accused the ministry of undermining an agreement allegedly reached on September 14 with ASCSN and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC).

PTA chairmen caution parents against sending children to school

The PTA chairmen of Federal Government College, Rubochi, and Federal Government Girls’ College, Abaji, both expressed concerns over the conflicting information from the government and labour unions.

The Rubochi PTA chairman, Audu Sumaila, said the school was unlikely to reopen.

Similarly, the Abaji PTA chairman, Umar Suleiman, urged parents and guardians not to send their children back to school until further notice.

In a message to parents, Suleiman cited the conflicting directives surrounding the commencement of the academic session, saying, “For now, there will be no school resumption until further notice.”

The chairman of the King’s College PTA, Engineer Oluwaleye Peter, also said the parents could not compel students to resume when teachers were not available to teach them.

He said the Federal Ministry of Education had directed the schools to reopen, but the workers’ union had refused to open the school.

“If there is no teacher or staff to attend to them, to teach them, to shelter them, there’s nothing parents can do,” he said.

Oluwaleye said parents wanted King’s College and other Federal Unity Colleges to remain under the direct supervision and control of the Federal Ministry of Education.

He, however, said parents were not opposed to the government increasing school or boarding fees if such increases were necessary to properly fund the institutions.

According to him, the major demand of parents is adequate government funding of the Federal Unity Colleges so they can fulfil their original mandate of providing quality education at an affordable cost.

The PTA chairman of Federal Government College, Ijanikin, Chief Odetunde Taiwo, said parents were caught between conflicting directives from the government and the unions.

He added that parents were advised not to take their children to the school because there would be no guarantee that they would be allowed into the premises or receive lessons.

He said parents believed keeping the students at home temporarily was preferable to sending them to school without teachers and adequate supervision.

“We all agree unanimously that the students should stay at home while the consultation is still ongoing,” he said.

Other PTAs, including those of Federal Government Boys College, Apo; Federal Government College, Warri; Federal Government Girls’ College, Sagamu; Federal Government Girls’ College, Bwari; and Federal Government College, Onitsha, were also reported to have advised parents to delay their children’s return.

In Borno State, a student of Federal Government College, Maiduguri, said students had yet to officially resume despite the return of the principal, vice-principal and other administrative staff.

The student, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said students were reluctant to return because teachers were still participating in the industrial action.

“They asked us to resume and commence our classes, but nobody is going. We learned that the teachers are still on strike, so we refused to resume,” he said.

FG: Disregard directive from PTA

The Federal Ministry of Education has disowned an association operating under the name National Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) of Federal Unity Colleges, declaring that it does not represent parents or individual PTAs across the country’s 117 unity schools.

The ministry, in a statement signed by its Director of Press and Public Relations, Boriowo Folasade, said the association had neither been recognised nor authorised to speak on behalf of the colleges, parents or guardians.

The ministry said any statement, directive, appeal or communication issued by the unrecognised association had no official standing and should be disregarded by parents, guardians and members of the public.

“The Ministry has neither recognised nor authorised the association to speak on behalf of the colleges, their PTAs, parents or guardians,” the statement said.

It advised parents and guardians to rely exclusively on official communications from the Federal Ministry of Education and the management of their respective schools regarding academic activities and the welfare of students.

Also, the Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, urged parents and guardians to ensure that their children and wards return to their respective Federal Unity Colleges, insisting that the 2026/2027 academic session had commenced nationwide.

Opposition to King’s College concession mounts

Meanwhile, opposition to the proposed concession of King’s College, Lagos to the King’s College Old Boys Association (KCOBA) has intensified, with the Education Rights Campaign (ERC) and the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) Chairmen Forum of Federal Unity Colleges demanding that the Federal Government reverse the plan.

The groups argued that handing over the management of the school to a private association could make education less accessible to children from working-class and middle-class families.

The ERC, in a statement by its Deputy National Coordinator, Ogunjimi Isaac, described the proposed concession as an attack on public education and called for its immediate reversal.

According to the ERC, although fees in the school had increased periodically, they remained significantly lower than those charged by private schools offering comparable or even lower standards of education.

It said this affordability had made King’s College and other unity schools a preferred option for many families despite what it described as the poor condition of public education in the country.

The PTA Chairmen Forum of Federal Unity Colleges also backed the striking workers protesting the concession, warning that transferring the school to private management could place a greater financial burden on parents.

National Vice President of the forum, Comrade Lekan Adebayo, said the proposed concession was unfortunate and could undermine access to education for children from less privileged backgrounds. (Daily Trust)