The management of Prime College, a private secondary school in Kano, has denied claims that it reached an out-of-court settlement with the Kano State Private and Voluntary Institutions Management Board (KSPVIB) over the reopening of the school.
In a statement issued on Saturday by its solicitors, Femi Sunmonu & Co., the school described reports of such a settlement as misleading, saying it had never agreed to the terms put forward by the board.
“Our client, Prime College, has drawn our attention to an announcement in the press by the PVIB Kano on a purported terms of settlement that the Executive Secretary seeks to foist on the situation he has created,” the statement signed by Femi Sunmonu read.
“For the avoidance of doubt, our client has not agreed to any out-of-court settlement at this time. Any ‘agreement’ will be only via a just, honest and transparent process and not by coercion, and only with the legal representatives accompanied by specifically authorized representatives of the school.”
The management stressed that while it regrets the inconvenience caused by the closure, it remains committed to asserting its legal rights before the courts.
Prime College had earlier objected to what it called an “unlawful attempt” by the board to shut down its operations following a dispute over school fees. The school said it was compelled to react after receiving an order from a Kano Magistracy directing a reversal of its 2025/26 fee increase and suspension of operations.
According to the school, in July 2025 it announced a new fee structure for the 2025/26 academic session, citing inflation and the need to sustain teaching quality and infrastructure. Management said flexible payment plans were introduced to ensure that no student was denied access to education.
The school noted that over 94 per cent of parents complied with the new rates, while fewer than 20 parents rejected the increase and petitioned the PVIB, accusing the school of being exploitative.
It added that the Executive Secretary of the PVIB, Malam Baba Abubakar Umar, visited the school alongside some parents and set up an interim caretaker PTA committee of eight parents and five teachers. The committee, according to the school, voted in favour of the increment.
“Yet, the PVIB later declared the deliberations inconclusive and issued directives for the fees to be reversed,” the statement said.
The school alleged that its attempts to engage with the board were met with “abuse, denigration, and public embarrassment.”
On September 17, Prime College said it was served with an order from the Kano Magistracy halting implementation of the new fees.
“No such directive was given in the order or derivable from its contents,” the statement added.
The management reaffirmed that it is pursuing legal redress and warned against what it described as an unjust suspension of children’s education.
“It is unfair to suspend the education of innocent children even for one day, let alone for weeks, without hearing our side of the matter,” the statement read.
