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), describing the arrangement as a transfer of the government’s responsibility for funding and managing public education.
The organisation urged the Federal Government to use the two-week suspension of the concession to cancel the arrangement rather than amend the signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and proceed with its implementation.
The Federal Government approved the concession in July, while KCOBA announced a N100 billion endowment fund to support infrastructure renewal, teacher development, digital technology, scholarships and students’ welfare.
Following protests by workers and parents, implementation of the arrangement was suspended and a seven-member committee was constituted to review the agreement.
However, CAPPA said the suspension had not addressed what it described as the fundamental problem of transferring the management and governance of a publicly owned national institution to a private association.
The organisation also rejected the government’s argument that the arrangement did not constitute privatisation because legal ownership of the school would remain with the state.
Also Read: Nigeria returns to J.P. Morgan bond index after 11 years
MOGCI Seek NUJ Partnership to Combat Adolescent Sexual Health Crisis
According to CAPPA, public ownership becomes weakened when operational control, institutional governance and decision-making powers are transferred to a private body.
Established in 1909, King’s College is one of Nigeria’s oldest secondary schools and part of the Federal Unity College system, which was established to bring students from different regions, ethnic groups, religions and social backgrounds into shared institutions while expanding access to quality public education.
CAPPA said that despite deteriorating infrastructure and rising school-related charges, King’s College and other Unity Schools remained comparatively accessible to working-class and low-income families.
The organisation’s Assistant Executive Director, Zikora Ibeh, said the deterioration of public schools should prompt increased government investment rather than provide justification 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.
CAPPA 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.
It said the allocation remained inadequate to address challenges including dilapidated school infrastructure, overcrowded classrooms, teacher shortages, poor sanitation and the number of children without access to quality education.
The organisation argued that rising federally collected revenues and tax receipts should translate into increased investment in education and other essential public services.
CAPPA maintained that King’s College, as a federal institution and national public asset, should have its infrastructural and administrative challenges addressed through adequate budgetary allocations, transparent expenditure and accountable public management.
It warned that concessions should not become a substitute for public funding or an avenue for government to withdraw from its responsibility to provide accessible and quality education.
The organisation linked the King’s College arrangement to what it described as a broader pattern of weakening public institutions before presenting private participation as a solution.
It cited the increasing commercialisation of essential services and infrastructure, including water systems in Lagos, arguing that concession plans and public-private partnerships could place services essential to everyday life under commercial control.
“If King’s College is concessioned today, which Unity School will follow tomorrow? If schools, water systems, hospitals and other essential services are steadily transferred to private managers, what precisely will remain of the government’s social responsibility?” Ibeh said.
CAPPA, however, acknowledged that KCOBA could support the restoration of the school without assuming managerial control.
It said the alumni association could renovate classrooms and hostels, equip laboratories and libraries, provide scholarships, support teachers and contribute to an independently administered endowment fund.
Such support, the organisation said, should supplement public funding rather than replace it or confer governance rights over the school.
As immediate measures, CAPPA called on the Federal Government to cancel the signed MoU and commission an independent assessment of King’s College’s infrastructure, staffing and learning needs.
It said the findings should form the basis of a costed rehabilitation plan funded through the federal budget, with clear deadlines and publicly reported expenditure.
CAPPA also proposed a public oversight mechanism comprising representatives of the Ministry of Education, teachers, workers, parents, students, alumni and independent education experts.
It called for the publication of rehabilitation contracts, budgetary allocations and project reports, as well as independent audits of the projects.
Beyond King’s College, CAPPA demanded a properly funded national renewal programme for all Unity Schools to ensure that government intervention is not determined by the financial capacity or political influence of individual alumni associations.
The organisation commended the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, the Nigeria Union of Teachers and the Trade Union Congress for opposing the concession.
It urged them, alongside the Nigeria Labour Congress, Parent-Teacher Associations, students, alumni and members of the public, to continue pressing for the cancellation of the arrangement.
CAPPA maintained that public education is a public good and a responsibility of government, which should fund, protect and administer it in the interest of Nigerians.
