The lingering industrial dispute between the Federal Ministry of Education and organised labour over the proposed concession of King’s College, Lagos, has entered its second week, leaving parents of students in Federal Government Unity Colleges across Nigeria counting the cost. The development has created difficult choices for parents, including keeping their children occupied, supervising them while they work, and arranging alternative academic activities. For parents who enrolled their children in the Unity Colleges due to their boarding facilities and relatively affordable education, the prolonged disruption is creating additional financial and logistical pressures.
Some parents have expressed concern that the disruption could affect their children's preparations for critical examinations, including the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). Tony Imansuangbon, whose children are in their final classes, fears that the disruption could leave students struggling to cover their syllabuses, revise adequately, and compete on equal footing with candidates in schools where academic activities are continuing uninterrupted. He is paying for private lessons for his children and incurring additional expenses for food and other necessities.
Eunice Otomewo, another parent, has had to buy textbooks and engage a private lesson teacher for her children following the continued closure of their school. She lamented that she is paying out of pocket to cushion the impact of a dispute over which she and other parents had no control. As a teacher in a state school, Otomewo finds it painful that she is teaching other pupils while her own children remain at home due to the industrial action. She warned that the continued uncertainty is taking a toll on the academic calendar, with students likely to bear the consequences of the prolonged confrontation.
Hauwa Abubakar, a single mother, is struggling to keep her children engaged while meeting the demands of everyday life. The prolonged disruption of academic activities has placed an added burden on her, particularly as she has to shoulder the responsibility of keeping her children learning outside the classroom while worrying about the financial implications of the prolonged stay at home. Abubakar urged the parties to urgently resolve their differences and allow students to return to school, saying the education of children should not be compromised by the dispute.
The disruption comes against the backdrop of an already severe learning crisis in Nigeria, with recent data showing that a large proportion of children are progressing through school without mastering basic competencies. A September 2026 analysis by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) found that 86 per cent of Junior Secondary School 2 (JSS2) learners failed to reach the minimum proficiency level in Mathematics in 2022. The report also found that about 30 per cent of learners who reached JSS3 in 2021 did not possess foundational reading skills.
The Federal Government had directed that academic activities resume following an agreement reached with labour unions over the dispute. However, parents have received no definite resumption date, with the latest communication from the school informing them that students should remain at home “till further notice.” The situation has turned into an unexpected financial burden for many parents, who are now considering private lessons and other arrangements to prevent their children from falling behind academically.
The industrial dispute has sparked concerns about the impact on the academic calendar and the future of students. Parents are demanding that the government and labour resolve their differences and allow students to return to their classrooms. The Federal Government's proposed concession of King’s College, Lagos, has been a point of contention, with many calling for it to be reconsidered. The situation remains uncertain, with students bearing the brunt of the prolonged confrontation.
Key points
- 86% of JSS2 pupils fail to attain minimum maths proficiency
- Dispute disrupts academic session, affecting WASSCE and UTME preparations
- Parents face financial and logistical pressures due to prolonged closure
