King’s College Crisis Deepens As Workers Shut School Over 35-Year Concession
By Emmanuel Daniji
The future of hundreds of students at King’s College, Lagos, has been thrown into uncertainty following a fresh dispute over the Federal Government’s decision to concession the 35-year management of the school to the King’s College Old Boys Association (KCOBA).
Workers at the prestigious Federal Government school have shut the college indefinitely, while parents have rejected the arrangement, raising concerns that the concession could eventually make the institution too expensive for ordinary Nigerian families.
The dispute has already affected activities at the school, with a notice pasted on the gate informing students and parents that the college had been shut until further notice.
“Note that the College has shut down for now till further notice. No more registrations till further notice,” the notice read.
The workers, under the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), are opposed to the concession, while the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) has also kicked against the arrangement.
For many parents, the major concern is what will happen to the children already enrolled at the school if its management is transferred to a private entity.
PTA Chairman, Engr. Peter Oluwaleye, said parents chose King’s College partly because it provides quality education at a subsidised cost, making it possible for families who may not be able to afford expensive private schools to give their children a good education.
He said parents feared that handing the school over to a private operator could result in a significant increase in fees.
“If we had wanted to put our children in private school, most of us are not capable of doing that because the fees are much higher in private schools,” Oluwaleye said.
The workers share similar concerns.
Unit Chairman of the workers’ union, Comrade Samuel Enang, alleged that fees could eventually rise to between N4 million and N5 million per student if KCOBA takes over the management of the school.
“How many parents in this present economy of the country can afford such education for their children?” Enang asked.
The controversy followed a directive from the Federal Ministry of Education announcing the handover of the college to KCOBA within a period running from September 4, 2026, to February 2027.
However, both the PTA and workers alleged that they were not adequately consulted before the decision was reached.
Parents are particularly asking that students who are already in the school should not be forced to move into a new fee structure midway through their education.
Oluwaleye proposed a transition period of at least six years, arguing that students already admitted under the Federal Government arrangement should be allowed to complete their education before the concession takes full effect.
“If concession is going to take place, at least you should give it a period of a minimum of six years to consummate,” he said.
Under the proposal, KCOBA could begin admitting new students into its own arrangement after the existing students have graduated, thereby preventing children already in the system from being caught between two different management structures.
The workers are also worried about their own future.
Enang said members of staff remain employees of the Federal Civil Service Commission and opposed any arrangement that would force them to choose between retaining their civil service status and working under KCOBA.
He also alleged that the old boys’ association intends to commercialise parts of the school’s property through developments such as hotels, shopping malls and car parks.
Those allegations have not been independently established, and the dispute remains centred on the terms and implications of the proposed concession.
For parents, however, the immediate issue is not only who manages King’s College but whether the institution will remain accessible to families who have depended on its relatively affordable Federal Government education.
The indefinite shutdown has added another layer to the controversy, with fears that prolonged disruption could affect the academic calendar and leave students caught in the middle of an institutional dispute they had no role in creating.
As the Federal Government moves ahead with the proposed concession, parents and workers are demanding greater consultation and clearer assurances on the future of existing students, staff welfare and the affordability of education at one of Nigeria’s best-known Federal Government schools.
