UBEC to bypass States in allocating education funds under proposed law

Chairman of the House Committee on Basic Education and Services, Mark Useni, has said that the proposed amendments to the Universal Basic Education (UBE) Act aim to address long-standing implementation gaps and improve educational outcomes across Nigeria.

Speaking during a two-day legislative retreat held in Lagos on Friday, Useni noted that the revised UBE Act would allow the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) to directly deploy funds based on each state’s specific needs, even when such states fail to provide the statutory matching grants.

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“We cannot continue to have idle funds while children are out of school and schools decay from neglect,” Useni said at the retreat, which brought together lawmakers, education commissioners, and stakeholders to review the 20-year-old Act.

UBEC Executive Secretary, Aisha Garba, described the retreat as a timely initiative to confront Nigeria’s foundational education challenges. She cited 2023 data, revealing that 18 million Nigerian children are still out of school, a figure that exceeds the populations of Liberia and Sierra Leone combined.

“Even among those enrolled, only 27 per cent meet basic literacy and numeracy standards, far below the global average of 40 per cent,” Garba said.

She also pointed to deep regional disparities, with the North East recording the lowest literacy rate at 12 per cent, while the South East and South West recorded 56 and 52 per cent respectively.

Garba identified insecurity, poor infrastructure, lack of learning materials, and shortage of qualified teachers as key challenges.

She also expressed concern over the underutilisation of UBE intervention funds by several states.

“Some states have not accessed these funds for years. In others, the funds are accessed but not effectively used,” she said.

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Also speaking at the event, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, a member of the Senate Committee on Basic Education and former Governor of Abia State, called for legal protections to shield UBEC from political interference in states where cooperation is lacking.

He further suggested integrating both Western and Islamic education models in the North to increase inclusive learning opportunities.

The retreat aligns with UBEC’s 2020–2030 roadmap, which prioritises expanded access, enhanced learning quality, and overhauled financing mechanisms for basic education in Nigeria.