The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has raised the alarm over the slow utilisation of billions of naira meant to improve basic education, directing states to urgently access over ₦65 billion in counterpart funds and deploy about ₦267 billion in previously released intervention funds.

Executive Secretary of UBEC, Aisha Garba, said the huge funds still lying unaccessed or unutilised must be converted into tangible improvements in schools, warning that education investment would mean little if it failed to improve the learning experience and outcomes of Nigerian children.

Garba spoke in Asaba, Delta State, at the opening of the 30th Quarterly Meeting of UBEC Management with Executive Chairmen of State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBs), themed: “Repositioning Basic Education in Nigeria to Optimise Investment and Impact.”

She disclosed that although states had so far accessed more than ₦177 billion in UBE Matching Grants, over ₦65 billion in counterpart funding was still unaccessed, while approximately ₦267 billion in intervention funds already released to states remained unutilised.

The UBEC boss said the figures showed that the challenge confronting basic education was not only the availability of funds but also the capacity and willingness of states to effectively plan, access, implement and account for the resources.

She said: “States must move beyond accessing resources to ensuring that available funds are properly planned, implemented, monitored and converted into measurable results.”

Garba urged state governments to urgently address bottlenecks delaying access to the funds, stressing that the resources were intended to address critical gaps in basic education and should not remain idle while schools continue to require infrastructure, learning materials and other essential facilities.

She also called for stronger collaboration between governments and the private sector, development partners and civil society organisations, arguing that the scale of the challenges facing basic education required more sustainable financing partnerships.

The Executive Secretary also announced the commencement of the review of UBEC’s Ten-Year Strategic Roadmap, which is being extended to cover 2026–2035.

She said the revised roadmap would align the Commission’s investments with emerging needs in the sector, strengthen implementation and ensure that interventions produce measurable impact.

Garba also identified the HOPE-EDU Operation as an opportunity to strengthen the systems, institutions and capacity required to achieve sustainable improvements in basic education.
She urged states to prepare adequately to participate in the initiative and maximise the opportunities it would provide.

In another development, Garba unveiled the Basic Education Action Plan Management System (BEAP-MS), a digital platform designed to replace the largely manual process of preparing and submitting state action plans.

She said the new system would improve coordination between UBEC and SUBEBs, enhance efficiency and reduce repeated physical engagements by state officials at the Commission’s headquarters.

“This will transform the preparation and submission of state action plans from a largely manual process into a fully digitised system,” she said.

The UBEC boss also highlighted the Commission’s Whole School Approach, which she said was designed to move basic education interventions away from fragmented projects towards comprehensive school improvement.

Under the approach, she explained, investments in classrooms, water, sanitation and hygiene facilities, perimeter fencing, furniture and other essential infrastructure would be concentrated in selected schools to create safer, more functional and complete learning environments.

Garba further said the successful conduct of the National Learning Assessment, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education, would provide credible evidence for planning and targeting interventions.

She said the assessment would help UBEC and other education stakeholders better understand what Nigerian children were learning and where additional interventions were required.

The Governor of Delta State, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, described education as the most strategic investment any country could make.

The governor who was represented by his Deputy, Monday Onyeme, said the real value of education should be measured not merely by the number of projects executed but by the quality of learning, opportunities created for children and the future secured for them.

He said Delta State had prioritised education under its MORE Agenda, while consistently supporting the Universal Basic Education programme and fulfilling its counterpart funding obligations.

Oborevwori expressed appreciation to UBEC for approving two additional model SMART Schools for the state, saying government had already provided the required land for the projects.

He listed investments by the state to include classrooms, perimeter fencing, gatehouses, toilets, solar power facilities, furniture and staff quarters, as well as SMART Schools and technical and vocational education.

According to him, the interventions were aimed at providing safer learning environments while equipping young people with skills needed to thrive in a technology-driven economy.

The Asagba of Asaba, Prof. Epiphany Azinge, said Nigeria’s greatest wealth was its human capital, stressing that investment in education represented the highest form of national capital formation.

Azinge urged UBEC and SUBEBs to shift greater attention from how much money was spent to what children were actually learning saying, “The real wealth of Nigeria lies in the minds of its children.”

The monarch added that every classroom constructed, child educated and competent teacher supported contributes to national productivity.

According to him, basic education provides the foundation for literacy, numeracy, character, citizenship and innovation, urging education authorities to measure success by the competencies children acquire and the futures transformed.

He also called for greater attention to inclusive education for girls, children with disabilities, rural and nomadic populations, conflict-affected children and children from economically disadvantaged homes.