King’s College staff protest concession plan as old boys seek access

Workers at King’s College, Lagos, blocked members of the school’s Old Boys’ Association from entering the premises on Tuesday as opposition grew over a federal concession arrangement for the college.

The old boys had planned to hold a press briefing inside the school, but staff unions resisted at the gate, sang protest songs and demanded that the government reverse the decision.

Kashim Ibrahim-Imam, president of the King’s College Old Boys’ Association, said the Federal Executive Council had approved a public-private partnership that would hand management of the school to the association. He said the plan was not a sale or privatisation of the college and argued that the old boys wanted to rehabilitate the school’s ageing facilities.

He also said the association had no plan to raise school fees, and that teachers who chose to remain would have their salaries and allowances doubled. Workers who did not want to stay, he said, would remain Federal Ministry of Education staff and could be transferred to other federal schools.

Premium Times reported that the confrontation became tense when police moved in to allow the old boys into the school. Lagos Commissioner of Police Fatai Tijani said officers were there to prevent the situation from escalating and that both sides had agreed to meet on Wednesday.

Sources: Punch, Premium Times