An educationist and parent, Mr. Francis Adun, has advised parents to delay sending their children back to Federal Unity Colleges due to an ongoing labour dispute over the proposed concession of King’s College, Lagos.
Adun told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja, that the situation could make the scheduled resumption of students impracticable.
According to him, the academic calendar requires students to return on Sept. 13, ahead of the commencement of full academic activities on Monday, Sept. 14.
He, however, expressed concern that parents who took their children to the schools could be confronted with locked gates if the labour dispute remained unresolved.
He said such a development would force parents to return home with their children, exposing them to additional transportation costs, inconvenience and possible risks associated with travelling on the roads.
“As a parent and stakeholder, I do not think that resumption today will be possible.
“We will have to wait and see what happens within the week between the government and the union before we know whether the children will resume today or middle of the week,” he said.
Adun said the dispute followed opposition by the Association of Federal Unity Schools in the Federal Unity Colleges to the proposed concession of King’s College to its Old Students Association.
He acknowledged the directive by the Federal Government, through the Minister of Education, for the schools to reopen on Monday, but said the union was also concerned about protecting the interests and job security of its members.
According to him, the union fears that concession of one Federal Unity College could eventually lead to similar arrangements in other unity schools.
“The union too has its own labour rights to protect its members. They are acting to protect their members because they foresee a situation where the concession could become a precedent for other unity schools,” he said.
Adun further argued that the union could not simply disregard its labour rights because of the directive from the ministry, describing it as an autonomous body operating within the framework of national labour laws.
He said the dispute would have to be resolved between the federal government and the union before parents could have sufficient assurance that students would be admitted into the schools without disruption.
Adun recalled that a similar attempt to concede unity colleges had faced resistance from labour unions during the administration of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua.
He therefore, urged parents to exercise patience and await further official communication on the dispute before taking their children to the Federal Unity Colleges. (NAN)
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