The Universal Basic Education Programme is aimed at ensuring free education for Children at the primary school level and three years of junior secondary school. The programme was launched in September 1999 while the law establishing UBEC was signed in 2004.
Official data from Nigeria’s Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has shown that 32 states have not accessed over N48 billion in UBEC funds available for improving basic education across all states.
The Universal Basic Education Programme is aimed at ensuring free education for Children at the primary school level and three years of junior secondary school. The programme was launched in September 1999 while the law establishing UBEC was signed in 2004.
The reason for the failure to access funds that are crucial to the educational outcomes of the states is partly because of the way the UBEC funds are structured. To access allocated UBEC funds, states must match the grant amount available up to at least 50%.
Section 11, subsection 2 of the law states that "For any State to qualify for the Federal government block grant pursuant to sub-section 1(1) of this section, such State shall contribute not less than 50% of the total cost of projects as its commitment in the execution of the project".
However, according to recent information uploaded on UBEC website, Anambra, Ogun and Imo states have the highest amount of funds not accessed with over N3billion grant for each.
Amid this, Nigerian education system is crashing under the weight of a pathetic state of infrastructure and learning facilities across all states which makes a mockery of the country’s desire to improve the sector.
Meanwhile, in 2021, ActionAid Nigeria, AAN, and other stakeholders told the government that the rising insecurity in Nigeria is traceable to poor funding and sheer neglect of the nation’s education sector.
Stakeholders made their stand known at a one-day ‘National Dialogue on Education Financing’ with the theme ‘More and Better Financing of Education in Nigeria’, held in Abuja, which was organised by ActionAid in collaboration with Civil Society Action Coalition on Education For All, CSACEFA, and Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT.