Can Nigeria reform a public school without losing its public purpose?

The argument over King’s College, Lagos, risks becoming a dispute about ownership when the more urgent question is educational: how does Nigeria restore a historic public school whose problems extend beyond ageing buildings to teaching quality, management, infrastructure, student welfare and academic standards? That question should be at the centre of the Federal Government’s review of the proposed concession to the King’s College Old Boys’ Association (KCOBA). The government says the school will remain publicly owned, with KCOBA assuming responsibility for financing, rehabilitation, modernisation, operation and maintenance under a public-private partnership. KCOBA, meanwhile, has proposed a ₦100 billion endowment and transformation programme covering infrastructure, teacher development, scholarships, laboratories, libraries, digital systems and student welfare. There is a reasonable case for such outside intervention. KCOBA says years of inadequate maintenance, overcrowding and weak institutional systems have contributed to the deterioration of the college, while its members have already funded projects at the school. The association has also argued that previous interventions have not been sustained because there was no sufficiently strong management structure to maintain them. The experience of St Gregory’s College, Lagos, makes that argument worth examining. The school was returned to the Catholic Mission in 2001 after more than two decades under Lagos State Government control. Its own account says the period of government management had left the institution in poor condition and that its return opened a new chapter. Reporting on the subsequent revival has pointed to substantial alumni support, expanded boarding facilities, new laboratories and improvements in academic, sporting and other aspects of school life. But St Gregory’s is evidence of possibility, not proof of a formula. It returned to a mission proprietor; King’s College would remain a federal public institution under a PPP arrangement. The relevant lesson is therefore not that government should simply hand struggling schools to alumni or private interests. It is that public institutions can benefit from external capital, expertise and stewardship when those contributions are placed within a governance system that protects the institution’s purpose. That distinction should shape the King’s College review. The objective should not be to decide whether KCOBA or the government wins control. It should be to determine what arrangement can produce demonstrably better education while preserving the school’s national character. The first measure should be academic performance. Before major capital is deployed, King’s College needs a public baseline covering examination performance, subject-level results, teacher-student ratios, attendance, teacher qualifications, laboratory and library capacity, student progression and other indicators of learning. The proposed investment should then be tied to a three-to-five-year improvement plan with published targets. A renovated laboratory matters but the real question is whether students receive better practical instruction and perform better. Teachers should be at the heart of this reform. KCOBA has said teachers who remain under the new arrangement would receive improved remuneration, including a commitment to double salaries and allowances. The government has also indicated that teachers who do not wish to remain under the arrangement can be redeployed within the federal system. These proposals need to become a formal staffing framework covering salaries, pensions, promotion, professional development, recruitment and redeployment. Paying teachers better is necessary but not sufficient. King’s College should be able to recruit specialist teachers where genuine shortages exist, particularly in science and technology, while existing staff should have access to continuous professional development and transparent performance expectations. A school cannot recover its academic reputation if its teachers remain an afterthought to its infrastructure. The financial and governance arrangements require equal discipline. If ₦100 billion is the transformation target, the public should know how much has actually been committed, how much has been raised and how the money will be spent. Independent annual audits, published project reports and clear procurement and conflict-of-interest rules should be mandatory. KCOBA should have meaningful oversight of funds it raises, but no stakeholder should exercise unchecked control over a public institution. Affordability must also be contractual, not rhetorical. KCOBA has said it does not intend to increase what parents currently spend and plans scholarships for indigent students. Those commitments should be written into the final agreement, alongside rules governing fees, admissions and access. Better facilities should not gradually transform a national school into one accessible primarily to wealthy families. The current seven-member review committee has an opportunity to establish these safeguards. It is examining the concession’s duration, funding, staff welfare, fees, operational control and KCOBA’s financial obligations. Its task should therefore be broader than deciding whether the existing agreement survives. It should determine whether the agreement can be redesigned around measurable educational outcomes. King’s College does not have to choose between an underfunded public institution and an unaccountable private one. The St Gregory’s experience suggests that external stewardship can contribute to revival; the King’s College case can go further by combining alumni capital and expertise with continued public ownership, professional management and transparent accountability. Five years after implementation, the test should be visible: are students learning more, are teachers better paid and better trained, are facilities functioning, is access protected and can the public account for the money invested? If those outcomes improve, the partnership will have justified itself. If they do not, arguments about ownership will have missed the real issue. Nigeria does not need another experiment in who controls a public school. It needs a credible demonstration that a historic institution can be rebuilt around the people who matter most: its students and teachers.