Staff of Federal Unity Colleges across Nigeria have defied the Federal Government’s resumption directive, keeping the schools shut as a dispute over the proposed management concession of King’s College, Lagos, enters another phase.
The Federal Government had directed the colleges to resume academic activities on Monday, September 21, after reaching a two-week settlement with education-sector labour unions over the King’s College controversy.
But members of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria faction led by Shehu Mohammed rejected the arrangement and maintained their indefinite strike.
During visits to Federal Unity Colleges in Lagos and Ibadan on Monday, union members were seen around school gates while parents largely kept their children at home. The development effectively stalled the government’s attempt to restart the 2026/2027 academic session.
The confrontation came after a September 16 agreement between the Federal Government and labour representatives to suspend the implementation of the proposed takeover of King’s College by its Old Boys’ Association for two weeks.
The agreement provided for a seven-member committee to review the concession arrangement and submit recommendations. It also included the withdrawal of police personnel from King’s College and an assurance that workers would not be victimised for taking part in the industrial action.
The government subsequently sent a September 18 memo to principals of the Federal Unity Colleges, directing them to ensure that academic activities resumed.
That instruction has, however, encountered resistance from the Shehu Mohammed-led ASCSN faction, which said it was not bound by the agreement reached with another group.
The faction accused the Ministry of Education of negotiating with representatives it did not recognise as having the authority to speak for the union. It consequently directed its members to suspend both academic and administrative activities and disregard subsequent instructions from school authorities or ministry officials.
At King’s College, Lagos, the ASCSN chapter chairman, Sam Enang, confirmed that students had not returned.
“We have not resumed. The pupils are at home. We have not called off the strike,” Enang told journalists.
He said the union had communicated its position to parents and instructed them not to send their children to school.
“The union says an indefinite strike is on and we have started that since yesterday,” he added.
Enang also alleged that the Ministry of Education breached its understanding with labour by deploying police officers to the college during the earlier confrontation between workers and members of the Old Boys’ Association.
He said the union would continue the industrial action until its concerns over the King’s College arrangement were addressed.
The dispute is not confined to King’s College. Enang said workers in the Federal Unity Colleges nationwide had received instructions to participate in the shutdown.
At the Federal Government College, Ijanikin, Lagos, the ASCSN chairman, Ayo Hundeyin, also confirmed that classes had not resumed.
“We have not resumed. The pupils are at home. We have not called off the strike,” Hundeyin said.
He further raised concerns over what he described as possible plans to transfer other Unity Colleges to private interests, mentioning institutions in Kano, Port Harcourt and Ilorin.
The Federal Government has rejected that interpretation of its policy.
Education Minister, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, has said the King’s College arrangement is an isolated case and will not be extended to other Federal Unity Colleges.
“No. We’re not extending it. The government still has its responsibility,” Alausa said.
The minister said the government would continue to finance the rehabilitation of other Unity Colleges while considering alternative funding arrangements for their infrastructure needs.
The central disagreement, therefore, is not only about when the schools should reopen but also who has the authority to negotiate on behalf of the affected workers and whether the proposed King’s College management model should proceed after the two-week pause.
The Federal Government has consistently maintained that King’s College is not being sold or privatised. Under the proposed arrangement, ownership would stay with the government while the Old Boys’ Association would take responsibility for management, rehabilitation and maintenance under a public-private partnership framework.
However, the labour unions have opposed the arrangement and earlier called for its reversal. Their objections triggered the shutdown of the Federal Ministry of Education and the disruption of activities in more than 100 Unity Colleges across the country.
This development has left parents caught between two conflicting instructions: the ministry’s directive for their children to return to school and the union’s call for them to stay away.
It also means that the 2026/2027 academic session has yet to settle into normal operations in the affected institutions, despite the government’s attempt to restart classes.
Attention now shifts to the seven-member review committee established under the government-labour agreement. Its work is expected to determine the next stage of the King’s College concession dispute, while the unresolved disagreement within ASCSN continues to dictate whether Federal Unity Colleges can reopen fully.
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