Imagine 155 federal schools opening their gates for a new term, and almost nobody walks in. That is exactly what happened across Nigeria on Monday.

This is the story of how a plan for one famous school in Lagos has sparked a nationwide classroom boycott.

So, here is what went down.

Federal Unity Colleges were supposed to resume on Monday, 14th September. The Federal Government had insisted over the weekend that the date remained sacrosanct. No shift. No extension.

But parents had other ideas.

From Lagos to Calabar, many classrooms stayed empty. Children stayed home. It was not a holiday extension, it was a protest.

The trigger? The proposed concession of King's College, Lagos.

For many parents, this feels personal. Unity Colleges were created to give bright kids from all 36 states, regardless of background, a chance at quality, affordable federal education.

Now they are asking: if King's College can be handed over, who is next?

On Saturday, that anxiety spilt onto the streets. In Calabar, Cross River State, a group of parents staged a peaceful protest, holding placards and calling on the Federal Government to halt the process and, in their words, "engage parents and other stakeholders over the future of the institution."

And they are not alone. Education unions have now joined the fray. According to reports, the Joint Congress of Unions in Unity Colleges resolved that "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."

PTA Chairmen in the South-West are also threatening to keep schools shut until the decision is reversed.

Let's rewind a bit: King's College, Lagos is not just any school. Founded on 20th September 1909, it is 117 years old this year and arguably Nigeria's most iconic secondary school. It has produced presidents, Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, business moguls, judges - generations of notable Nigerians.

But like many of the 155 Federal Unity Colleges across the country, its infrastructure is crying out for help - dilapidated hostels, ageing labs, overstretched dining halls.

That is where the concession comes in.

The Federal Government says it has NOT sold King's College.

Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, clarified on Friday that the institution "remains a publicly owned national institution, with legal title retained by the Federal Government".

What has been approved is a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) concession to the King's College Old Boys' Association (KCOBA).

In simple terms:

Government keeps ownership and all regulatory powers.

KCOBA takes over the heavy lifting: financing, rehabilitating, modernising, operating and maintaining the school.

The Old Boys have reportedly mobilised a N100bn fund to transform classrooms, hostels, labs, libraries, clinics, sports facilities and digital tools.

The government says admissions will still follow the national Unity College quota system - merit, transparency and equitable representation from all states via the National Common Entrance Examination, and that there is no automatic fee hike written into the agreement.

Parents and unions, however, hear "concession" and fear "commercialisation". They worry that a school built to be accessible could slowly become unaffordable and elitist.

This is bigger than one school in Lagos. It is a test case for the future of public education in Nigeria.

If this PPP model works at King's College, the government could replicate it across other Unity Colleges to fix decades of underfunding. If it fails, or if trust breaks down, it could deepen the divide between public and private education.

And right now, trust is shaky. Thousands of children are at home, not learning, because parents do not feel they were carried along.

Nigeria has dabbled with PPPs in education before, but never with an institution of this stature. Unity Schools themselves were established in the 1970s after the civil war to promote national unity - bringing children from different tribes and religions together under one roof.

That founding ideal is exactly what parents say is at stake.

The Federal Government is now under renewed pressure to publish the full terms of the agreement, hold town halls with PTAs and alumni bodies beyond KCOBA, and explain the KPIs, staff protection framework and fee safeguards it says are in place.

Until then, expect the standoff to continue. The gates are open, but the students are not walking in.

Source: cbinews.tv

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