₦airaland Forum

The controversy surrounding the Federal Government’s decision to concession King’s College, Lagos, to the King’s College Old Boys’ Association (KCOBA) has intensified, with parents and other stakeholders reportedly preparing for a mass protest against the arrangement.

Chairman of the school’s Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), Peter Oluwaseye, said the planned protest was necessary because of widespread opposition to the concession among parents, civil servants and members of the surrounding community.

Oluwaseye said parents were not comfortable with the decision and maintained that the school remained a public institution that should not be taken over by its former students.

“Parents are not in support of the move. Senior civil servants are also against it, and the community is not supporting it either. Old boys should not regard the college as their property. They attended the school just as the current students are doing,” he said.

He argued that KCOBA should support the institution through voluntary contributions rather than seek control of its administration.

According to him, “King’s College is a public property. The old students should give to the college willingly, not wanting to take it over. They won’t succeed. There is no private entity that can assemble the type of teachers we have in the college.”

He insisted that parents would continue to oppose the concession, regardless of the form in which it was being implemented.

The controversy followed an announcement last month by KCOBA President, Alhaji Kashim Ibrahim-Imam, that the Federal Government had approved the concession of the 116-year-old institution to the old boys’ association.

Following the announcement, KCOBA launched a N100 billion endowment fund aimed at supporting the school’s redevelopment and repositioning.

Among the early contributors were First Lady Oluremi Tinubu, who donated N10 million, while Ibrahim-Imam pledged N1 billion. Former Board of Trustees Chairman, Chief Philip Asiodu, and the association’s new Board Chairman, Alhaji Femi Okunnu, also donated N100 million each.

The proposed arrangement is expected to support infrastructure development, teacher training, digital technology, scholarships, research, innovation and students’ welfare.

Ibrahim-Imam described the concession as a major milestone in the history of King’s College and said it could serve as a model for improving public education in Nigeria.

He explained that the arrangement would allow KCOBA to work with the government to upgrade the school’s infrastructure, strengthen its governance structure and improve academic outcomes while retaining government ownership.

He also rejected suggestions that the institution had been sold to the old boys’ association, stressing that the arrangement was not a privatisation deal.

Rather, he said, it was designed as a new governance framework through which KCOBA would partner with the government to restore, modernise and sustain King’s College.

The development, however, continues to generate concern among parents and other stakeholders who fear that the concession could alter the character and ownership structure of the historic public institution.

AnonPoet:
https://applesbite.com/parents-mobilise-protest-against-kings-college-concession/

Apcshit:
Another glorified secondary school

Apcshit:
Another glorified secondary school

Mitsurugi:
The Old Boys will run it better. Floreat!

nairalanda1:
Well, the PTA is not being realistic.

Nigerians do not seem to realize that things cost far more than they thinK. i am not denyiing corruption exists. I am not a child. But the fact is, King's college is decaying, as are most federal government colleges, because governments past and present built far too many schools and universites over the years beyond the ability of the education budget to carry them. This is even before we talk of the looting and corruption in the sector at all levels.

The thing is, even if corruption ends in the education budget, there is no way what is budgeted can keep king's college at high level

We can lie to ourselves, or we can face the truth. Yaradua wanted to concession the schools, the same nigerians called him names. Have the schools gotten better? No, they have gotten worse and worse and worse. Meanwhile, the rich and the elite go to proper private schools that are well furnished. And in time the advantage will tell

EIther the schools are concessioned, or fees go up, or we just sit down and watch as the schools become a mess. I already know how Nigerians feel about taxation.

We can keep pretending income from 1.8 m bpd of oil is enough for a nation of 230 million people. LOL.

mrvitalis:
Nigerians just Hate change

They want things to be better but when it times to change to allow that they resist it

mrvitalis:
Nigerians just Hate change

They want things to be better but when it times to change to allow that they resist it

4reala:
Let the old boys just keep supporting the school, rather than the hidden motives they have under the guise of private public partnership

benardtotti:
They will soon call you IMF agent

nairalanda1:
There are times that we gat to forget politics, IMF, world bank,e tc, and realize that quality something cost quality prices.

I can remember the time I bought original Hankook car battery for my then car. It cost me MONEY. But was it worth it? Hell yeah! Battery lasted LONGER than all these batteries they sell for roadside.

Sheuns:
Kings College originally doesn’t belong to the FG. It belonged to the British Government.

Kukutente23:
Why are the parents against it?
I believe their fears are anchored on what happened with QC where the fees were hiked to high heavens after the old students association took over the school management
There's also the fear of favouritism in admission after the association is given control of the school
But I think these issues can be properly ironed out
There's a lot to benefit from an association like the Old students with influential members having a say in the affairs of the school one of which is easily standards and maintenance

kole22k:
I believe that the PTA executives who are siphoning and embezzlling the money under pretense are the ones engineering the parents to kick against the arrangement. This wonderful arrangement would improve the students academically morally and structurally...but it would take food out of the mouth of the PTA EXECUTIVE and the authorities within the environ who are also benefiting from the proceeds

mrvitalis:
Nigerians just Hate change

They want things to be better but when it times to change to allow that they resist it