Education Commission Disburses N5bn To Tackle Out-of-School Children Menace

The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has disbursed over N5 billion to 518 communities nationwide under the School-based Management Committee-School Improvement Programme (SBMC-SIP).

The disbursement is part of the efforts to strengthen basic education delivery and tackle the challenge of out-of-school children.

At the national flag-off of the 2025 SBMC-SIP implementation yesterday in Abuja, UBEC executive secretary, Dr Aisha Garba, said the intervention underscored the federal government’s renewed commitment to improving school infrastructure, deepening community participation, and ensuring that children not only enrol in school but remain through completion.

She said the N5.18 billion earmarked for the 2025 programme would support 518 communities nationwide, with each state and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) benefiting from 14 schools.

Represented by the deputy executive secretary (Technical), Mr Rasaq Olajuwon Akinyemi, Garba said the intervention would prioritise underserved areas, focusing on the rehabilitation of dilapidated structures, provision of classroom furniture, and improvement of water, sanitation  and hygiene (WASH) facilities.

“This represents a renewed national commitment to strengthening community participation in school governance, improving learning environments across the federation and ensuring that every Nigerian child not only enrols in school but remains in school to complete basic education.

“The event brings together four significant moments in one: a review of implementation progress under the 2023 and 2024 SBMC-SIP cycles; the formal disbursement of the final tranche support funds for that cycle; the national flag-off of the 2025 School-based Management Committee–School Improvement Programme and the official launch of the Learner Retention Programme.

“Collectively, these actions reflect a deliberate and integrated strategy to strengthen school governance, improve infrastructure, deepen community ownership and systematically address the barriers that keep children out of school or push them out before completion,” the UBEC boss stated.

She noted that the SBMC-SIP has continued to demonstrate impact as a community-driven initiative, with over 1,112 schools supported nationwide and more than N1.5 billion disbursed in previous cycles.

According to her, 13,670 projects have been initiated nationwide, many of which are expected to attract over 400,000 children back to school.

In his remarks, the minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, described the initiatives as critical components of the federal government’s strategy to strengthen basic education and achieve inclusive learning outcomes.

He said the programmes aligned with national education policies, including the Universal Basic Education Act and the National Policy on Education, as well as global commitments such as Sustainable Development Goal 4.

Alausa, who was represented by the director, Basic Education, Dr Folake Olatunji-David, emphasised that the SBMC-SIP promotes decentralisation and community ownership of school development, while the retention programme directly targets the reduction of out-of-school children, particularly in high-burden states.