The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has condemned what it describes as the Federal Government’s controversial attempt to hand over the management of King’s College, Lagos, to the institution’s Old Boys’ Association under a Public-Private Partnership arrangement.
HURIWA says the Federal Government must immediately halt the process and publish the full legal and contractual framework behind the proposed arrangement.
The rights group warns that an Old Boys’ Association cannot, by virtue of being an alumni organisation, be transformed into the proprietor or de facto controller of a federal school through the back door.
HURIWA says King’s College is a national institution established and sustained as part of Nigeria’s public education system. It therefore cannot be treated as an asset to be quietly transferred to a private association without the strictest adherence to law, due process and public accountability.
The organisation describes the attempt to blur the line between an alumni association and a school proprietor as unacceptable.
HURIWA says Old Boys’ Associations are voluntary organisations established primarily to support their former schools, contribute to development and promote the welfare and reputation of the institutions.
“They are not automatically licensed school proprietors, commercial operators or owners of federal educational institutions simply because they have produced former students willing to contribute money to their alma mater.”
HURIWA therefore demands that the Minister of Education explain, in clear terms, the legal authority under which the Old Boys’ Association is being positioned to assume management responsibilities at King’s College.
The association’s president, Kashim Ibrahim-Imam, has insisted that the arrangement is not a sale or privatisation of the school.
HURIWA says that assertion alone cannot settle the matter.
The critical questions are: Who will control the school? For how long? Under what law? Who will determine policy? Who will control finances? Who will employ or transfer teachers? Who will determine fees? What happens to the school’s public assets? And what happens when the PPP expires?
HURIWA insists that Nigerians deserve clear answers to these questions before any concession proceeds.
If the Federal Government genuinely intends to concession King’s College, HURIWA demands an open, transparent and competitive process in accordance with applicable laws and procurement requirements.
The organisation rejects any attempt to create a special arrangement that gives one alumni association preferential access to a national public institution without transparent competition.
HURIWA says the argument that the Old Boys have contributed funds to the development of King’s College cannot automatically confer ownership or management rights over the institution.
If the Old Boys have raised funds for the school, HURIWA says such money can be placed in a properly structured development endowment, managed transparently through a reputable financial institution, with clear rules on how the funds are to be deployed.
Money donated to a public institution does not become a title deed to that institution.
HURIWA also rejects any attempt to shift the Federal Government’s constitutional responsibility for public education onto alumni groups under the guise of partnership.
The organisation says government must fix the country’s public schools and provide the necessary funding, infrastructure and personnel rather than gradually surrendering public institutions to private interests.
HURIWA is particularly concerned by reports of tension between workers and the Old Boys’ Association at King’s College.
The organisation says disagreements over the future of a federal school must not be resolved through pressure, intimidation or the deployment of security personnel to force through a disputed arrangement.
HURIWA therefore calls on the Federal Government to immediately open a transparent dialogue involving the workers, parents, students, Old Boys’ Association, relevant education authorities and other stakeholders.
The rights group also demands that no irreversible decision concerning the ownership, control or management of King’s College be taken until the legal and public-interest questions surrounding the proposed PPP have been fully addressed.
HURIWA warns the Federal Government that King’s College is not an inheritance to be shared among former students.
It is a national institution.
It belongs within Nigeria’s public education system and must remain accessible, accountable and subject to lawful public oversight.
HURIWA therefore calls on the Minister of Education to come clean on the proposed arrangement and disclose the concession agreement, approval documents, legal basis, duration, financial obligations, management structure and safeguards for students and workers.
The organisation equally calls on the Federal Government to ensure that any future partnership for the rehabilitation of King’s College is designed around development without surrendering public ownership or accountability.
HURIWA will resist any attempt to use the language of Public-Private Partnership to achieve what would effectively amount to the transfer of a national educational asset to a private association.
King’s College is not for sale. King’s College is not an alumni estate. King’s College is a national institution, and its future must be determined openly, lawfully and in the public interest.
By Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko
National Coordinator
Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA)
