Sharon Adurokiya, Reporting
CONFUSION has greeted the planned resumption of students in Nigeria’s 117 Federal Unity Colleges as a faction of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) directed an indefinite shutdown of the schools.
The development has put the Federal Government’s directive for students to resume the 2026/2027 academic session on Sunday, 20 September, at odds with the position of the union faction, leaving parents and guardians uncertain about whether to send their children back to school.
The dispute is linked to the controversy surrounding the proposed 35-year concession of King’s College, Lagos, to the King’s College Old Boys Association (KCOBA).
The Federal Ministry of Education, in a 18 September memorandum to principals of the Unity Colleges, said it had reached an agreement with labour unions and directed schools to commence academic activities.
The ministry noted that the original resumption date was 13 September but instructed principals to notify parents that students who had not returned should resume on 20 September.
The memorandum, signed by the Director of Senior Secondary Education, Adeniji Ibrahim, also directed principals to ensure that relevant staff were available to receive returning students.
However, the Shehu Mohammed-led faction of ASCSN rejected the directive, insisting that its industrial action remained in force until the issues surrounding the dispute were fully resolved.
In a 18 September letter signed by its Secretary-General, Joshua Apebo, the faction directed the total and indefinite shutdown of all Federal Unity Colleges across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The union directed its members to suspend academic and administrative activities, establish monitoring teams to ensure compliance and disregard contrary directives from school authorities or officials of the Ministry of Education.
The faction alleged that the ministry had undermined an agreement reached with ASCSN and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) on 14 September by subsequently entering into what it described as a parallel agreement with individuals who lacked the mandate and recognition of the association.
It maintained that the shutdown would continue until its national leadership directed otherwise.
In a separate communiqué issued after an emergency virtual meeting of its zonal coordinators, the faction accused the Ministry of Education of failing to implement key aspects of the understanding reached with labour.
It specifically alleged that a promised broad-based committee to address the dispute had not been constituted and that documents relating to the proposed King’s College concession had not been released to the union.
“Up till now, the committee of relevant stakeholders promised by the Minister has not been constituted almost a week after the meeting, and the relevant documents about the concessioning of King College, Lagos promised by the Minister have not been made available to the Union,” the communiqué stated.
The faction consequently rejected the minister’s reported announcement that the strike had been suspended, arguing that only the recognised leadership of the union could call off the industrial action.
The dispute is further complicated by the existence of two ASCSN factions led by Innocent Bala-Audu and Shehu Mohammed.
While the Bala-Audu-led faction is reported to have greater influence at the Federal Ministry of Education headquarters in Abuja, the Mohammed-led faction has stronger support among workers in the Federal Unity Colleges, contributing to the conflicting directives over resumption.
The uncertainty has already affected several schools, with Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) advising parents to keep their children and wards at home.
Among the schools affected are Federal Government Boys College, Apo; Federal Government College, Rubochi; Federal Government Girls’ College, Abaji; Federal Government College, Warri; Federal Government Girls’ College, Sagamu; Federal Government Girls’ College, Bwari; and Federal Government College, Onitsha.
The PTA of Federal Government College, Warri, said the union’s indefinite suspension of resumption meant that key personnel, including teachers, housemasters and housemistresses and dining hall officers, might not be available for normal school activities.
Similarly, the PTA of Federal Government Girls’ College, Sagamu, advised parents not to send their children back to school, saying the proposed resumption date might not be feasible while the industrial action remained in force.
The PTA chairman of Federal Government College, Rubochi, Audu Sumaila, also said the school was unlikely to reopen on Sunday because of the conflicting developments.
“With what is going on, I don’t think the school is going to open tomorrow,” Sumaila said, adding, “No resumption till further notice.”
The PTA chairman of Federal Government Girls’ College, Abaji, Umar Suleiman, similarly advised parents and guardians against sending their children back to school until further notice.
Suleiman cited “conflicting information” from the Federal Ministry of Education and labour union leadership concerning the commencement of the new academic session.
He urged parents to await clear guidance before returning their children to school.
Efforts to obtain the reaction of the Ministry of Education’s Director of Press and Public Relations, Folasade Boriowo, were unsuccessful, as she did not respond to calls and text messages sent to her as of the time of filing the report.
The situation leaves parents and students facing uncertainty over the commencement of academic activities in the affected Federal Unity Colleges, amid the unresolved disagreement between the government and organised labour.
