NUT backs suspension of resumption in unity colleges

The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Federal Wing, has endorsed the suspension of resumption in all Federal Unity Colleges nationwide, saying its members will not return to classrooms until the controversy surrounding the concession of King’s College, Lagos, is resolved.

The chairman of the union, Emeka Okonta, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Friday.

Okonta said the suspension would allow the unions to engage the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, and seek clarification on the agreement between the Federal Government and the alumni of King’s College.

“We are not resuming. We are in support of the suspension of the resumption,” he said.

The NUT chairman said the union was concerned that teachers had not been adequately informed about the terms and rationale behind the concession.

“We want to discuss with the minister because we don’t know the essence of selling the school or concession.

“We want to understand what is the agreement they reached with the old boys or the alumni of King’s College,” he said.

Okonta said the union would not support the arrangement without sufficient information, warning that allowing the concession of a public institution could encourage similar moves in other Federal Unity Colleges.

“The point is that if you allow that, it will spread to other schools. We don’t want that.

“It is not advisable. That is a public institution. So, you can’t do that,” he said.

He said the union’s position was that the concession should be reversed and urged the minister to engage the unions on the matter.

NAN reports that the Joint Congress of Unions of the Federal Ministry of Education announced the suspension of resumption in all Federal Unity Colleges in a communiqué issued on Thursday.

The unions said the action was in protest against the concession of King’s College, Lagos, and demanded the reversal of the decision.

The affected institutions include Federal Government Colleges, Federal Government Boys’ Colleges, Federal Government Girls’ Colleges and Federal Technical Colleges.

The unions also appealed to stakeholders, including the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), to support their opposition to the concession.

They maintained that public educational institutions should not be privatised or conceded.