By Desire Uzochukwu
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has called on the Federal Government to immediately suspend the proposed Public-Private Partnership, PPP, arrangement for the management of King’s College, Lagos, insisting that the federal institution must not be handed over to its Old Boys’ Association without full legal and public scrutiny.
HURIWA also demanded the disclosure of the proposed concession agreement, approval documents, legal framework, duration, financial obligations and management structure governing the arrangement.
In a press statement on Thursday, HURIWA’s National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, said an alumni association could not automatically become the proprietor or de facto controller of a federal school simply because it had contributed to its development.
According to the rights group, King’s College is a national institution within Nigeria’s public education system and any change in its management must comply with applicable laws, procurement requirements and principles of public accountability.
The controversy follows moves to establish a PPP arrangement involving the institution and its Old Boys’ Association.
The association’s president, Kashim Ibrahim-Imam, has reportedly said the arrangement does not amount to the sale or privatisation of the school.
HURIWA, however, said describing the arrangement as a PPP did not resolve fundamental questions about ownership, control and accountability.
The group asked: “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?”
It said Nigerians deserved clear answers to the questions before the proposed arrangement proceeded.
Contributions don’t confer ownership
HURIWA rejected the suggestion that financial contributions by the Old Boys’ Association towards the development of King’s College could confer ownership or management rights over the federal institution.
The group said alumni organisations were established to support their former schools and contribute to their development, but such contributions did not automatically make them proprietors or commercial operators of public institutions.
“Money donated to a public institution does not become a title deed to that institution,” HURIWA said.
It suggested that funds raised by the Old Boys could instead be placed in a properly structured development endowment managed transparently, with clear rules governing their use for the school’s development.
The rights group also warned against using the PPP model to shift the Federal Government’s responsibility for public education to alumni organisations.
It urged the government to provide adequate funding, infrastructure and personnel for public schools while ensuring that partnerships with private interests did not undermine public ownership and accountability.
Workers’ concerns
HURIWA also expressed concern over reported tension between workers and the Old Boys’ Association over the future management of the school.
It said disagreements surrounding the institution should be resolved through dialogue and due process rather than intimidation or the deployment of security personnel to enforce a disputed arrangement.
The organisation called for an immediate dialogue involving workers, parents, students, the Old Boys’ Association, relevant education authorities and other stakeholders.
It further demanded that no irreversible decision concerning the ownership, control or management of King’s College be taken until the legal and public-interest issues surrounding the proposed PPP had been fully addressed.
HURIWA said the Federal Government must make the process transparent if it intended to proceed with the arrangement.
“King’s College is not an inheritance to be shared among former students. It is a national institution,” the group said.
“It belongs within Nigeria’s public education system and must remain accessible, accountable and subject to lawful public oversight.”
The association urged the Minister of Education to make public the concession agreement, approval documents, legal basis, duration, financial obligations, management structure and safeguards for students and workers.
It also called for any future partnership aimed at rehabilitating King’s College to focus on improving the institution without compromising public ownership or accountability.
HURIWA said it would oppose any arrangement that, in its assessment, used the PPP framework to achieve what would effectively amount to transferring control 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,” the group said.
