Why Labour kicked against planned privatisation of Unity Schools

….Leave Unity Schools alone

By allcitynews.ng

In apparent bid to forestall another bitter experiences that have so far characterised privatised national assets, organised labour under the umbrella of Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), concerned about the danger, has kicked against planned privatisation of Unity Schools across the country.

Even as the Association challenged those individuals having ambition to buy the Unity Schools to set up their own schools rather than waiting to buy off Unity Schools, noting that 10 years after first attempt, some people have continued to toy with the idea of converting Unity Schools into their personal property.

Pointing out that the 110 Unity Colleges, commonly known as Federal Government Colleges {FGCs}, across the country, are not for sale, the Secretary General of the Association, Comrade Joshua Apebo reiterated his advise that those interested in running Secondary Schools should build their own.

Apebo advised portfolio-carrying “Investors” to remove their minds in the planned acquisition of Unity Schools because they have continued to serve as one of the symbols of unity in the country.

Irked by renewed efforts to sell off the 110 schools, which hitherto has remained as one of the objects of unity, Apebo regretted that more than 10 years after the Union stalled plans to sell the 110 Federal Government Colleges, the collective wealth of millions of Nigerians to the privileged few, the matter is rearing its ugly head again.

He posited that in civilized climes, philanthropists and other good-spirited
individuals and groups build standard Schools, Hospitals, etc, and donate them for public use.

“But in Nigeria, portfolio-carrying investors always connive with greedy politicians to be converting public companies and institutions into their private estates under the dubious Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.

“We, therefore, urge the Trade Union Movement, Royal Fathers, religious organizations, civil society groups, parents-teachers associations, student unions, leaders of thought, men and women of good conscience in the country to unite as they did more than 10 years ago in order to prevent a situation where Federal Government Colleges will be sold to few parasitic individuals.”

The ASCSN Mouthpiece warned those pursuing the idea against removing the landmarks put down by the country’s forefathers.

In reminding the general public of the genesis of the Unity Schools, Apebo stressed: “appalled by politics of ethnicity
and bitterness which characterized the first Republic, the then Prime Minister, Sir Tafawa Balewa, in 1966 conceived and set up three Federal Government Colleges, one at Okposi (later moved to Enugu) for Eastern Region, another one in Warri for Western Region and the third one in Sokoto for Northern Region to be unifying institutions for Nigerian Children from all parts of the Country irrespective of their social status and tribes so that they would grow up as better citizens and see
themselves as Nigerians having interacted closely with one another during their formative years.”

He noted that once the Schools are ceded to private entrepreneurs, they would become money-spinners and as such would be out of the reach of millions
of Nigerian children whose parents and guardians would not afford exorbitant fees
that would be imposed apart from the fact that thousands of teachers and other
workers would be thrown into the oversaturated Labour market.

“Once education becomes a commodity only for the rich, it will be a violation of Section 18 of the 1999 Constitution as amended which stipulates, among other things, that Government shall direct its policies towards ensuring that there are equal and adequate educational opportunities at all levels.

“Indeed, Section 18 (3) provides that Government shall strive to eradicate
illiteracy and shall therefore provide free, compulsory and universal primary
education; free secondary education; free university education; and free adult
literacy programme.”

It also recalled that while the struggle by the Union and other well-meaning Nigerians to retain the Unity Colleges between 2005-2010 raged, the then Honourable Minister of Education set up a committee headed by Senator Jonathan
Silas Zwingina to tour all the FGCs and make its recommendations.

According to ASCSN, while presenting its report to the Honorable Minister of Education on 12th March 2009 in Abuja, Senator Zwingina stated, among other
things, that funding of the Unity Colleges appeared to be the single most important
factor because some stakeholders see the maintenance of the Colleges as expensive
and wasteful and had even called for their privatization.

The Zwingina Committee then posited: “The fact is that National integration is so important that we cannot place a limit to the cost of sustaining it.

Those complaining about the cost of National integration should reflect on the comparative cost of National disintegration. Presently, the institutions
sustaining integration in Nigeria are the NYSC, the Federal Unity Colleges and
Federal Departments and Agencies who have staff all over the country. We should
therefore not take this effort for granted but must continue to sustain and encourage their growth and expansion.”

The ASCSN Secretary-General stated that during the struggle to forestall the
sale of FGCs, the Union embarked on seven (7) weeks strike, did intensive media campaigns, engaged Lawyers, apart from series of correspondences and meetings with Government officials.

“It was discovered then that those who have been penciled down to buy the Schools wanted to convert the vast expense of land and the structures therein into hotels and shopping malls to make profits because they do not have the interest of millions of students at heart.

“Communities who donated the land pledged to retrieve their land because
they were donated to build schools for Nigerian children and not for the privileged few to make money.”

The Union accordingly urged Nigerians not to stand by and watch the Federal Government Colleges sold to the privileged rich and thereby mortgage the future of millions of Nigerian Children.

For ADVERT Placement;
for EVENT Coverage;
Have story to PUBLISH;
HAVE Breaking story with pictorial evidence
OR wants to assist allcitynews.ng
by DONATIONS,
kindly contact us via ojezand@yahoo.com. Thank you.

Allcitynews.ng’s goal: To interface between policy makers & general public, most influential, informative and reliable issues-based online newspaper, working for unity, peace and development of the Country.

Disclaimer:

Comments expressed here do not in anyway reflect the opinions of allcitynews.ng or any employee thereof. It assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions in the comments.