The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has kicked against moves by the Federal Government to concession the management of Kings College, Lagos to its alumni association.
The Congress warned that the plan, which is being considered as a pilot for the concessioning of other Federal Unity Colleges across the country, poses grave danger to secondary education in Nigeria.
In a statement signed by its President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, the NLC said it was endorsing the protests that trailed the proposed concessioning in the preceding week.
According to the statement, the desire of the Kings College Old Boys Association to take over the management of the school was borne out of sincere concern to restore its lost glory, following years of neglect, underfunding, corruption, indiscipline and infrastructural decay that turned the once pride of the nation into an eyesore.
The Congress however argued that buried in the noble initiative is a dangerous precedent that could see other Unity Colleges being handed over to nebulous entities of doubtful origin and without the capacity to manage secondary education.
“This is akin to the Daily Times story,” the statement noted.
The NLC further warned that the concessioning would inevitably lead to hike in school fees and tariffs, thereby placing the Unity Colleges out of the reach of children from average families, regardless of their intellectual endowment.
The labour centre stressed that the obligation to educate its citizenry resides with the State and remains a duty it cannot abdicate.
It noted that having returned schools it acquired from missions, the burden of maintaining secondary education should be considerably less for government.
“Even in advanced economies, there are quite a number of schools including universities that are funded by government. Why would our case be different?” Ajaero queried.
The Congress urged the Federal Government to sufficiently fund and maintain the Unity Colleges in view of their noble contributions to national history, unity and quality education.
It called on government to sustain the culture of open and healthy competition between missionary schools, private schools and public schools, rather than selling public schools “through the back door.”
“Finally, even as we run a market economy, what will be too sacred for government to concession?” the statement added.