KCOBA defends King’s College concession, condemns use of students in protest

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

The Board of Trustees of the King’s College Old Boys’ Association (KCOBA) has defended the concession of King’s College, Lagos, saying the arrangement is not a sale or transfer of ownership of the 117-year-old institution.

KCOBA, in a press statement issued in Lagos on Wednesday, also condemned the reported use of underage students in school uniforms during demonstrations against the concession, particularly where students allegedly chanted abusive remarks against the Minister of Education.

The association said the controversy surrounding the concession should be addressed through facts and responsible engagement rather than misinformation, sectional interests or the involvement of schoolchildren in disputes between adults.

According to KCOBA, the concession is a Public-Private Partnership arrangement under which King’s College Education Trust Ltd/Gte (KCET), a special-purpose vehicle established by KCOBA, is to manage, develop, rehabilitate and operate the college within the terms of the agreement.

It stressed that the Federal Government retains legal title to the concession assets and that the agreement does not transfer ownership or create a proprietary interest in favour of the concessionaire.

“The concession is a mechanism for rebuilding and strengthening King’s College, not disposing of it,” the association said.

KCOBA said the Federal Ministry of Education identified an urgent need for comprehensive rehabilitation, modernisation, financing, operation and lifecycle maintenance of the college, with the aim of improving infrastructure and service delivery while ensuring long-term sustainability without additional pressure on government allocations.

The association said the proposal originated from a formal unsolicited proposal submitted by KCOBA through KCET and subsequently went through the government’s established PPP process.

It said the process, conducted with the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), included needs assessment, technical, economic, financial, legal, environmental and social due diligence, value-for-money analysis, fiscal impact assessment, risk identification and allocation, stakeholder consultations and commercial structuring.

KCOBA added that the ICRC issued a Certificate of Compliance after reviewing the project and determining that it met applicable PPP requirements, value-for-money and bankability thresholds and included public-interest safeguards.

The project was subsequently presented to and approved by the Federal Executive Council, according to the association.

Under the agreement, KCET is required to finance, develop, operate and maintain the project and implement a minimum rehabilitation programme covering academic buildings, administrative blocks, hostels, staff quarters, laboratories, libraries, dining and health facilities, utilities, sports and recreational facilities and other supporting infrastructure.

The association said the concession also provides for the construction of new classrooms, laboratories and hostel facilities, as well as specified sports facilities.

In the statement, KCET is further required to assume capital and recurrent expenditure associated with operating the project, including staff costs, utilities, maintenance and day-to-day operations.

It is also expected to provide learning materials, laboratory equipment, teaching aids, digital tools and classroom furniture while maintaining educational performance against defined standards and key performance indicators.

KCOBA said the agreement requires the school and ancillary property to ultimately be returned free of encumbrances and liabilities upon the expiration or termination of the concession.

The association also clarified that no monetary concession fee would be paid by the concessionaire to the Federal Government during the concession period.

Instead, it said the consideration under the arrangement was the substantial investment and institutional obligations undertaken by the concessionaire, including capital investment, operational funding, infrastructure modernisation, digital transformation and measurable educational performance.

KCOBA further said the Federal Government would retain regulatory and supervisory functions, inspection and audit rights, as well as step-in powers where material defaults occur.

It said persistent underperformance, material breaches, safeguarding failures, health and safety failures and other specified defaults could trigger contractual remedies, including step-in and termination.

On the controversy involving the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), KCOBA acknowledged that parents had the right to question, scrutinise and disagree with the concession.

However, it said parents should not turn children into instruments of adult institutional conflict.

The association said it was particularly concerned by the reported participation of minors in demonstrations involving abusive chants against a serving Federal Minister.

KCOBA also raised concerns about the circulation of recordings of the demonstrations on social media, urging those sharing such material to exercise caution.

It said it would not prejudge any investigation or declare that an offence had been committed without the necessary legal determination, but maintained that the production and dissemination of material depicting schoolchildren publicly abusing a government official raised legal, safeguarding and institutional questions.

The association also cautioned that the PTA should not be regarded as having exclusive authority to speak for the entire King’s College community.

KCOBA said it was aware of separate disputes involving elements of the PTA and parents over the DESK issue, but argued that such matters should not be used to misrepresent the purpose or substance of the concession without evidence establishing a connection.

The association said its involvement in King’s College predated the current concession, noting that generations of old students had contributed to the development of the institution.

It cited a September 2023 letter from the Federal Ministry of Education acknowledging interventions by KCOBA and various class sets, including infrastructure rehabilitation, boreholes, scholarships, academic prizes and technology projects.

Among the interventions, it said, was the renovation and equipping of the PTDF ICT Laboratory with 40 computer systems.

KCOBA also disclosed that the 1981–1986 Class Set made a ₦40 million intervention towards the digitalisation of classrooms at King’s College in May 2026.

The association said the concession was intended to provide an institutional framework through which the contributions and expertise of generations of old students could be deployed more systematically.

It said its vision was to develop a King’s College that is academically exceptional, digitally enabled, entrepreneurial and globally competitive while retaining its emphasis on character, discipline and integrity.

KCOBA said it accepted that the concession placed a significant responsibility on the association and pledged that it would be judged by the condition of classrooms and laboratories, digital infrastructure, student welfare, teacher quality, educational outcomes, governance, transparency and accountability.

It said the agreement contained performance monitoring, key performance indicators, reporting, audit, verification and inspection mechanisms.

KCOBA reaffirmed its support for the concession, rejected its characterisation as the sale or privatisation of King’s College, and affirmed that ownership of the school’s assets remained with the Federal Government.

It also called on parents and other stakeholders with legitimate concerns to engage through responsible and verifiable channels.

The association said its ultimate objective was to ensure that King’s College emerges stronger and more competitive while preserving the institution’s historic character.

“The concession is about the future,” KCOBA said, describing the arrangement as a test of whether government, alumni and the wider King’s College community could work together to improve the institution without losing its identity.

The association urged stakeholders to place the long-term interests of the college above sectional interests, saying King’s College “must not be diminished by one generation” but advanced for future generations.

Dear Vows