The Federal Government and labour unions in the education sector have reached a five-point agreement aimed at resolving the dispute over the proposed takeover of King’s College, Lagos, by the school’s Old Students’ Association.
The agreement was reached after a meeting on Wednesday between the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, and representatives of the labour unions.
As part of the resolutions, the unions agreed to immediately suspend the industrial action they embarked upon over the controversy.
The parties also agreed that no staff member would be victimised for participating in the industrial action.
To allow for further consultations, the Federal Government approved a two-week suspension of the implementation of the proposed takeover of King’s College by the Old Students’ Association.
The meeting further resolved that police officers deployed within the premises of King’s College should be redeployed to ease tension and restore a conducive learning environment.
In addition, a seven-member negotiation committee was constituted to review the Federal Government’s agreement with the Old Students’ Association on the proposed takeover of the college.
The committee is expected to examine the contentious provisions of the agreement and make recommendations that will help resolve the dispute and ensure a mutually acceptable outcome.
The latest development is expected to open the door for renewed dialogue between the Federal Government, labour unions and other stakeholders, with the aim of finding a lasting solution to the King’s College controversy.
The five-point agreement includes the immediate suspension of the industrial action, a guarantee that no worker will be victimised for participating in the strike, a two-week pause in the implementation of the proposed takeover, the redeployment of police officers from the college premises, and the establishment of a seven-member committee to review the agreement between the Federal Government and the King’s College Old Students’ Association.