The Federal Government has dismissed reports that it plans to sell or privatise Nigeria’s Federal Unity Colleges, describing the reports as unfounded.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, gave the clarification on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, in Abuja, following concerns over a proposed management arrangement for King’s College, Lagos.
Alausa said the Federal Government had no plan to sell any of the country’s Federal Unity Colleges, stressing that ownership of the schools would remain with the government.
He explained that the arrangement being considered for King’s College was intended to attract additional funding to rehabilitate and improve the institution, rather than transfer its ownership to private interests.
According to the minister, the initiative was being considered against the backdrop of serious infrastructure challenges confronting the country’s 115 Federal Unity Colleges. He said the scale of the problems meant that government funding alone might not be sufficient to provide the level of rehabilitation and improvement required across the schools.
Alausa, however, clarified that the arrangement being considered for King’s College was specific to the institution and would not automatically be extended to other Federal Unity Colleges.
The clarification followed concerns that changes to the management and funding structure of King’s College could mark the beginning of a wider government policy to privatise Unity Schools. The minister rejected such suggestions, maintaining that the Federal Government remained committed to retaining ownership of the institutions.
He said the objective was to find ways of bringing additional resources into schools with significant infrastructure needs while keeping them under government ownership.
The minister also sought to allay concerns over the possible impact of the arrangement on students and parents, assuring Nigerians that it would not lead to an increase in school fees.
He further said teachers would retain their jobs, indicating that the proposed changes were focused primarily on improving the school’s infrastructure and securing additional funding rather than reducing its workforce.
The Federal Government’s position is that the proposed intervention at King’s College is therefore a financing and management measure aimed at addressing infrastructure deficiencies and improving the quality of facilities available to students.
With 115 Federal Unity Colleges requiring varying levels of rehabilitation, the government is increasingly looking at ways to supplement its existing funding for public education. The minister’s comments indicate that such efforts, at least in the case of King’s College, are not intended to amount to the sale or privatisation of federally owned schools.
Alausa’s clarification is expected to ease concerns among parents, teachers, students and other stakeholders who had interpreted the proposed King’s College arrangement as a possible precursor to the privatisation of the wider Unity Schools system.
