UBEC Boss: Majority of States Yet to Access ₦45.7bn UBE Fund

Dr. Hamid Bobboyi, Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), disclosed that more than ₦45.7 billion in matching grants allocated to state governments for Universal Basic Education (UBE) implementation between 2020 and 2023 remain unassessed. This revelation came during an oversight visit by the Federal House of Representatives Committee on Basic Education and Services to the Commission in Abuja.

Dr. Bobboyi highlighted that only 16 states have accessed the 2023 matching grants, totaling ₦21 billion out of the ₦51.6 billion appropriated by the Federal Government. This represents a mere 41% uptake of the available funds as of June 30. The states that have accessed the grants include Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Enugu, Jigawa, Kano, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Ondo, Osun, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, and Zamfara.

Dr. Bobboyi emphasized that effective delivery of quality basic education and addressing the issue of out-of-school children requires collaborative efforts from all stakeholders, including the National Assembly. One significant challenge identified by Bobboyi is the reluctance or inability of some state governments to access the matching grants in a timely manner.

For 2023, out of the ₦103.2 billion appropriated from the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF), only ₦55 billion has been utilized. This covers expenditures under UBE implementation, matching grants, educational imbalance, special education, and monitoring programs, indicating a 54% utilization rate.

Hon. Mark Bako Useni, Chairman of the House Committee on Universal Basic Education and Services, pointed out that the UBEC Act, in place for nearly 20 years, is now obsolete and inadequate to tackle emerging challenges in basic education. He stressed the urgent need for legislative amendments to address issues like unaccessed funds. “UBEC Act has been in place for nearly 20 years. From the time the law came into force till today, we have passed through several stages of development; so one cannot hold on to one thing over the years,” Useni stated.

The committee’s oversight function aims to evaluate the progress of basic education over the past year and identify areas where UBEC’s intervention is required. Useni emphasized the importance of UBEC’s role in improving basic education, highlighting the federal government’s efforts in establishing UBEC as pivotal for the sector. He also noted the challenge of teacher unavailability, which remains beyond UBEC’s direct control, as teacher recruitment falls under state and local government responsibilities.

Useni concluded by stressing the importance of UBEC’s interventions in maintaining the quality of education. “Nigerians know that this intervention agency must play a pivotal role in the education of our children and everybody needs to know how far you fared. What are the challenges you are having, we need to ensure you do what you are meant to do. We must work very hard to change the tide of basic education,” he added.

Dr. Bobboyi noted that the quest to deliver quality basic education as well as address the challenge of out-of-school children in Nigeria requires all stakeholders including the National Assembly to join forces together to achieve. He lamented that some state governments lacked political commitment to basic education issues, saying this further exacerbated the menace of out-of-school children in the country.

The chairman of, the House Committee on Universal Basic Education and Services, Hon. Mark Bako Useni, on his part, described the 20-year-old UBEC Act as obsolete and inadequate to address the emerging challenges of basic education in Nigeria; hence the urgent need to amend the law.

Useni, who is the member representing Takum/Ussa/Donga Federal Constituency, revealed that already, the bill to that effect has already passed first and second readings in the House and is now at the committee stage. He said, “UBEC act has been in place for nearly 20 years. From the time the law came into force till today, we have passed through several stages of development; so one cannot hold on to one thing over the years. Like the issue of un-accessed funds, if we don’t amend the act, the challenge will continue to be there but if the act is amended and there are measures to make sure that we overcome unaccessed funds, the primary and secondary education will serve our children better.” He said the oversight function was necessary to see how basic education has fared in the last one year. Useni said the committee needs to know the areas of interventions the commission would be required to enhance quality basic education in the country.

“In our drive toward ensuring every Nigerian child is back to school and able to learn, we have 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,” he said. He added, “The challenge of unavailability of teachers also is beyond what we can achieve at this level. UBEC does not recruit teachers for LEA, it is the responsibility of states and local governments. What UBEC does is an intervention to check the quality of teachers and keep them up to date, we are going to engage state actors to make sure that we call attention to these serious problems.

Nigerians know that this intervention agency must play a pivotal role in the education of our children and everybody needs to know how far you fared. What are the challenges you are having, we need to ensure you do what you are meant to do. We must work very hard to change the tide of basic education.”

Dr. Hamid Bobboyi, Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), disclosed that more than ₦45.7 billion in matching grants allocated to state governments for Universal Basic Education (UBE) implementation between 2020 and 2023 remain unaccessed. This revelation came during an oversight visit by the Federal House of Representatives Committee on Basic Education and Services to the Commission in Abuja.