The National President of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, CDHR, Comrade Yinka Folarin, has opposed any move to privatise or commercialise Nigeria’s Federal Government Colleges, popularly known as Unity Schools.
Folarin said education is a fundamental right and should remain affordable and accessible to all Nigerians, warning that private management arrangements could undermine the founding objectives of Unity Schools.
He spoke on Trade FM’s Business of Learning, where he expressed concern over proposals for changes in the management of some Unity Schools.
According to him, the schools were established to bring together Nigerian children from different ethnic, cultural, religious and social backgrounds and promote national unity, peaceful coexistence and mutual understanding.
Folarin said any arrangement that fundamentally alters the public character of the schools could defeat the purpose for which they were established.
“Education is supposed to be a right and not just a privilege,” he said, adding that a nation that fails to take education seriously risks its future.
The CDHR president argued that Unity Schools should not be treated as commercial or profit-making institutions, insisting that the Federal Government should instead strengthen and expand them.
He rejected the argument that inadequate funding could justify privatisation, saying the government must be held accountable for adequately funding public education.
According to Folarin, Nigeria has the capacity to fund its Unity Schools, and a lack of funding should not become an excuse for government to shift its responsibilities to private organisations.
He said government should identify and address the challenges affecting the schools rather than seek what he described as shortcuts through privatisation or commercialisation.
Folarin also warned that private management could make Unity Schools less affordable for children from low-income families.
He said the opportunities provided by the schools had enabled many Nigerians, including some currently in government, to access quality education.
The CDHR president also commented on reports of a possible arrangement involving King’s College and its old boys’ association.
While acknowledging the important role alumni associations can play in supporting their former schools, he maintained that their involvement should not extend to taking over the management of public institutions.
Folarin said alumni could support schools through infrastructure projects, technology laboratories, donations, academic interventions and volunteer services.
He, however, warned that any arrangement allowing an alumni association or private body to assume control of the management of a government-owned school could become a pathway to privatisation.
He also raised concerns about the possible impact on teachers and other workers, saying such arrangements could result in job losses or affect the employment of experienced staff.
Folarin called on parents, students, alumni and civil society organisations to remain vigilant and oppose any policy that could commercialise public education.
He said the growing public reaction, including protests by some parents, showed that Nigerians were increasingly conscious of the need to preserve the public nature and original objectives of Unity Schools.
On the future of the institutions, the CDHR president said Unity Schools could continue to thrive if the government fulfilled its responsibility to adequately fund them while former students, parents and other stakeholders voluntarily contributed to their development.
He urged Nigerians to focus on strengthening and expanding the schools rather than adopting policies that could undermine access to affordable education.
According to him, the preservation of Unity Schools is essential not only to educational development but also to the promotion of national integration and peaceful coexistence among Nigerians.
