UBEC: Only 16 states accessed N51bn development grant for basic schools

The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) says only 16 states have accessed the N51 billion in matching grants approved for the development of public primary and junior secondary schools.

Hamid Bobboyi, the UBEC executive secretary, spoke in Abuja on Wednesday during a meeting with members of the house of representatives committee on basic education and services.

Bobboyi said many states have not accessed the N45.7 billion grant approved for states between 2020 and 2023 for the implementation of basic education.

He said one of the challenges faced by the commission is the inability of some states to access the UBE matching grant at the appropriate time.

He added that as of June 30, only 16 states had accessed the grant, with N21 billion representing 41 percent of the N51.6 billion appropriated by the federal government.

The UBEC executive secretary said the 16 states are Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Enugu, Jigawa, Kano, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Ondo, Osun, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, and Zamfara.

Bobboyi said all stakeholders must agree to deliver quality basic education that addresses the challenge of out-of-school children in the country.

‘UBE ACT OBSOLETE, INADEQUATE’ 

Mark Bako Useni, chairman of the house committee on UBE and services, described the about 20-year-old Basic Education Act as “obsolete and inadequate” to address the challenges of basic education in Nigeria.

Useni said the new amendment bill is now at the committee stage.

“The UBEC Act has been in place for nearly 20 years. From the time the law came into force until today, we have passed through several stages of development, so one cannot hold on to one thing over the years,” he said.

“Like the issue of un-accessed funds, if we don’t amend the act, the challenge would continue to be there, but if the act is amended and there are measures to make sure that we overcome un-accessed funds, primary and secondary education would serve our children better.

“In our drive toward ensuring every Nigerian child is back in school and able to learn, we have had high expectations from UBEC over the years.

“If the federal government has not established UBEC, you can only imagine what will become of basic education in the country.

The lawmaker also called for the recruitment of more teachers at the basic level to address “the challenge of the unavailability of teachers”.