King’s College row leaves parents counting cost as Unity Colleges miss second week - The Guardian Nigeria News

Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa

Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa

Parents of students in some Federal Government Unity Colleges across the country are counting the cost of the lingering industrial dispute between the Federal Ministry of Education and organised labour over the proposed concession of King’s College, Lagos, as the 2026/2027 academic session enters its second week.

The development has left parents facing difficult choices, including how to keep their children occupied, supervise them while they work and, in some cases, arrange alternative academic activities until normal school operations resume.

For parents who enrolled their children in the Unity Colleges because of their boarding facilities and relatively affordable education, the prolonged disruption is creating additional financial and logistical pressures.

Some parents who spoke to The Guardian are now considering private lessons and other arrangements to prevent their children from falling behind academically.

For Tony Imansuangbon, whose children are in their final classes, the prolonged dispute has become a source of growing concern, particularly as they prepare for critical examinations.

He fears that the disruption to academic activities could affect their preparations for the forthcoming West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), both of which are crucial to their next stage of education.

He lamented that the uncertainty surrounding the resumption of classes was particularly troubling for parents of graduating students, who are already under pressure to ensure that their children are adequately prepared for the examinations. According to him, any further disruption could leave students struggling to cover their syllabuses, revise adequately and compete on equal footing with candidates in schools where academic activities are continuing uninterrupted.

Speaking with our correspondent, he said: “We are paying a lot, lessons for the children at home as they are in their final class, as well as more food items against budget.

“Information from the school is still sketchy as there is no concrete date for resumption, though there is rumour that a communique may soon be out on the agreement with the union”.

For Eunice Otomewo, the disruption has turned into an unexpected financial burden, as she has had to buy textbooks and engage a private lesson teacher for her children following the continued closure of their school.

“I have to buy some textbooks for them and pay a private lesson teacher to teach them at home,” Otomewo said, lamenting that she was now paying out of pocket to cushion the impact of a dispute over which she and other parents had no control.

The situation, she said, was particularly painful because she is herself a teacher in a state school and has continued teaching other pupils while her own children remain at home because of the industrial action.

“I am very worried, especially being a teacher in the state school and teaching other students while my own children sit at home, all because of the strike action,” she said.

Otomewo said parents had received no definite resumption date, with the latest communication from the school informing them that students should remain at home “till further notice.”

She warned that the continued uncertainty was already taking a toll on the academic calendar, with students likely to bear the consequences of the prolonged confrontation.

“As it is, the academic calendar for the term is already distorted and students, being the grass when two elephants fight, will definitely suffer the losses, and I am not happy about that,” she said.

Her immediate demand, she said, was for the government and labour to resolve their differences and allow students to return to their classrooms, urging the Federal Government to reconsider the proposed concession of King’s College, Lagos.

For Hauwa Abubakar, a single mother, the lingering crisis has turned into a fresh struggle, as the prolonged disruption of academic activities leaves her grappling with the challenge of keeping her children engaged while meeting the demands of everyday life.

With the 2026/2027 academic session already disrupted, Abubakar is among parents confronting the uncertainty created by the industrial dispute.

As a single parent, the disruption places an added burden on her, particularly as she has to shoulder the responsibility of keeping her children learning outside the classroom while also worrying about the financial implications of the prolonged stay at home.

“I am worried about how long this will continue because the children are the ones who will eventually suffer the consequences,” she said.

For Abubakar, the dispute is no longer an abstract disagreement between government and labour. Its consequences are being felt directly in the home, where parents are left to absorb the financial and emotional cost while their children lose valuable instructional time.

She urged the parties to urgently resolve their differences and allow students to return to school, saying the education of children should not be compromised by the dispute.

The Guardian reports that the disruption is coming against the backdrop of an already severe learning crisis in Nigeria, with recent data showing that a large proportion of children are progressing through school without mastering basic competencies.

A September 2026 analysis by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said 86 per cent of Junior Secondary School 2 (JSS2) learners failed to reach the minimum proficiency level in Mathematics in 2022, with only 14 per cent attaining the required minimum standard. Also, the National Assessment of Learning Achievement in Basic Education (NALABE) 2022 found that 69 per cent of JSS2 learners failed to attain minimum proficiency in English Studies.

The UNICEF report also found that about 30 per cent of learners who reached JSS3 in 2021 did not possess foundational reading skills, competencies expected to have been acquired in Primary 2 and 3.

The Federal Government had, in a September 18 memo to principals of the Unity Colleges, directed that academic activities resume following the agreement it said was reached with the labour unions over the dispute.

In the memo with reference number FME/DSSE/SH/S.701/C.I/I, titled “Re: Resumption for 2026/2027 Academic Session,” the Ministry of Education said the original resumption date was September 13, 2026, but directed principals to ensure that students yet to return resumed on Sunday, September 20.

The correspondence, signed by the Director, Senior Secondary Education, Adeniji Ibrahim, stated: “I am directed to remind you that the resumption date for the 2026/2027 Academic Session was 13th September, 2026 and also inform you that the Ministry has reached an agreement with the Labour Unions, hence resumption of academic activities in all Federal Unity Colleges should commence.”

Consequently, the ministry directed principals to notify parents and guardians that students who were yet to return should resume on Sunday, September 20, while ensuring that relevant staff were available to receive them.

However, the directive is facing resistance from the Shehu Mohammed-led faction of Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), with its Secretary General, Joshua Apebo, insisting that the industrial action remains in force until the issues in dispute are fully resolved.

In a September 18 letter to all state branch chairmen, chapter chairmen, unit chairmen of Federal Unity Colleges and state secretaries, the union accused the Ministry of Education of undermining the September 14 agreement reached with ASCSN and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), alleging that the ministry subsequently entered into a parallel agreement on September 16 with persons it said lacked the mandate and recognition of the association.