Workers and trade union leaders in the Federal Ministry of Education on Monday protested in Abuja against the proposed concession of Federal Unity Colleges.

The protesters gathered at the ministry’s headquarters, displaying placards, chanting solidarity songs and demanding an immediate reversal of the concession plan.

They also vowed to sustain their industrial action until the Federal Government rescinded the proposal and increased funding for the affected schools.

The protest followed a dispute between the Federal Government and teachers’ unions over the proposed concession of King’s College, Lagos, to private interests or its Old Boys’ Association.

The protesters argued that transferring public schools to private entities could undermine their accessibility, affordability and role in promoting national unity.

Speaking with journalists, a trade union leader in the ministry, Comrade Gali Habib, said workers were protesting in solidarity to protect the public ownership and national-integration objectives of the Federal Unity Colleges.

Habib described the colleges as institutions where children from less-privileged families could access quality secondary education at subsidised rates.

He said the schools also helped bridge educational inequalities by bringing together children from different ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds.

“If you are selling these schools to private organisations, will the children of the poor be able to access quality education again? No,” he said.

Habib urged the Federal Government to reverse the concession plan and instead provide adequate funding for infrastructure, teachers’ welfare and other educational needs.

He said the union would sustain the industrial action until the government reversed the decision, stressing that workers were not part of any concession arrangement.

Another staff representative, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Federal Unity Colleges remained important platforms for national integration because children from different regions studied and interacted in the same environment.

The worker warned that concessioning the schools could weaken that role and make quality secondary education less accessible to families unable to afford private school fees.

A senior ministry officer, who identified himself simply as Uko, also called on the government to increase funding for King’s College, rehabilitate its infrastructure and improve the welfare of teachers and other workers.

Uko described King’s College as a national heritage institution that had contributed to the development of generations of Nigerians.

He urged the Federal Government to inject adequate funding into the institutions and properly cater to their teachers and staff rather than handing them over to private interests.

Another staff representative, who also spoke anonymously, called for the Unity Colleges to remain public institutions, citing their importance to national integration and access to affordable secondary education.

The worker urged the Federal Government and other stakeholders to preserve the colleges as public institutions and national assets.