By Funmilayo Adeyemi
The Federal Government has clarified that it has no plan to extend the proposed management arrangement for King’s College, Lagos, to other Federal Unity Colleges across the nation.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, stated this during a news conference in Abuja on Wednesday, while addressing ongoing controversy surrounding the proposed deal.
Alausa revealed that the government explicitly informed labor unions that the agreement with the King’s College Old Boys Association (KCOBA) remains an isolated case.
He stressed that the single management model does not signal a shift toward similar arrangements for other government-owned schools.
“No. We’re not extending it. The government still has its responsibility,” Alausa affirmed.
He reassured the public that the Federal Government would maintain its mandate to fund the rehabilitation of all other unity colleges directly.
To combat infrastructure deficits, the minister noted that the government is actively exploring alternative funding mechanisms to supplement budget allocations.
“As part of these efforts, approval has been secured to repurpose approximately 20 million dollars from a World Bank-supported programme for school rehabilitation.
He explained that around 20 unity colleges have already been selected for this specific funding intervention, which would eventually cover institutions nationwide.
Highlighting the scale of the financial challenge, Alausa pointed out that fully rehabilitating unity colleges in the South-West region alone would cost nearly N100 billion.
He explained that the special decision regarding King’s College was driven by severe infrastructure decay and KCOBA’s readiness to invest heavily through a non-profit foundation. (NAN)
Edited by Philip Yatai
