Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has rejected the federal government’s approved concession of King’s College, Lagos, to the King’s College Old Boys’ Association (KCOBA).
CAPPA said the arrangement was an abdication of the government’s responsibility to fund and manage public education.
CAPPA’s Assistant Executive Director, Zikora Ibeh, in a statement issued on Friday urged the government to use the two-week suspension of the arrangement to cancel it entirely, rather than amend the signed Memorandum of Understanding and proceed with its implementation.
She said federal government approved the concession in July, while KCOBA announced a N100 billion endowment fund to finance infrastructure renewal, teacher development, digital technology, scholarships and students’ welfare.
Following protests by workers and parents,she said implementation was suspended and a seven-member committee constituted to review the agreements.
Ibeh said the temporary suspension did not resolve the fundamental problem of transferring the management and governance of a publicly owned national institution to a private association.
She dismissed the government’s argument that the arrangement did not amount to privatisation because legal ownership of the school would remain with the state.
According to her, public ownership becomes increasingly hollow when the government transfers operational control, institutional governance and decision-making powers to a private body.
“Established in 1909, King’s College is one of Nigeria’s oldest secondary schools and an important part of the Federal Unity College system.
“Unity Schools were intended to bring children from different regions, ethnic groups, religions and social backgrounds into shared institutions while expanding access to quality public education.
“In spite deteriorating infrastructure and rising school-related charges, King’s College and other Unity Schools remain comparatively accessible to working-class and low-income families.
” This distinguishes them from many private schools that have proliferated as public education has been systematically underfunded and commercialised,” she said.
CAPPA’s Assistant Executive Director, Zikora Ibeh, said the deterioration of public schools should spur increased public investment rather than provide an excuse for transferring their management.
’’Government cannot neglect public schools until their infrastructure and learning environments deteriorate, only to present concession as the sole means of rescuing them. The condition of King’s College reflects inadequate public investment and weak administration,” Ibeh said.
She noted that the Federal Government’s 2026 executive budget proposal allocated about N3.52 trillion to education, representing approximately 6.1 per cent of the proposed national budget.
Ibeh said this remained inadequate for a country contending with dilapidated schools, overcrowded classrooms, shortages of teachers, weak sanitation systems and millions of children without access to quality education.
“At a time when federally collected revenues and tax receipts have risen substantially. The increased public income should translate into greater investment in education and other essential services.
CAPPA called on the Federal Government to cancel the signed MoU and commission an independent assessment of the school’s infrastructure, staffing and learning needs.
“The findings should form the basis of a costed rehabilitation plan funded through the federal budget, with clear deadlines and publicly reported expenditure.
“It should also propose a public oversight mechanism comprising representatives of the Ministry of Education, teachers, workers, parents, students, alumni and independent education experts.
“It said all rehabilitation contracts, allocations and project reports should be published, while progress should be independently audited,” she said.
