The failure of state governments to access the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) fund to improve the quality of education in their respective states is a major issue that has resulted in millions of out-of-school children in the country.
Despite the availability of funds from the federal government, state governments have consistently failed to access these funds, leading to a decline in the quality of education in the country.
Despite Nigeria’s growing crisis in the education sector, leading to the challenge of over 20 million out-of-school children nationwide, several Nigerian states have failed to access the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) matching grant.
Importantly, the UBEC fund was established in 2004 to provide funding for basic education in Nigeria. The fund is meant to be accessed by state governments, which are expected to use the funds to improve the quality of basic education in their respective states.
However, despite the availability of these funds, many state governments have failed to access them, leading to a decline in the quality of basic education in the country.
One of the major reasons for the failure of state governments to access the UBEC fund is corruption.
Reports have shown that many state governments divert these funds into their personal accounts, leaving little or nothing for the development of basic education in their states.
This has resulted in a lack of infrastructure, inadequate teaching materials, and poor teacher welfare, leading to a decline in the quality of education in the country.
Another reason for the failure of state governments to access the UBEC fund is a lack of political will.
Many state governments have shown little or no interest in improving the quality of basic education in their states, leading to a lack of investment in the sector.
This has resulted in a decline in the quality of education in the country, with millions of out-of-school children as a result.
The failure of state governments to access the UBEC fund has also led to a lack of accountability and transparency in the management of education funds in the country.
Many state governments have failed to provide clear information on how education funds are being utilized, leading to a lack of transparency and accountability in the sector.
The commission has been saddled with the responsibility to ensure effective implementation, evaluation and monitoring of the UBE programme of the federal government.
This is to help teachers, school managers and other stakeholders in basic and secondary education institutions in the country to identify areas of deficiencies in achieving curriculum goals and help to remedy these deficiencies.
The federal government, state governments, and the 774 local governments must, as a matter of urgency, adopt remedial measures to ensure the immediate registration of the 20.2 million out-of-school children in schools.
It’s heartwarming to know that some stakeholders have taken up the matter by seeking legal solutions to the issue.
They have threatened to sue the 36 state governments and FCT, if they fail to access the said sum of N68 billion unmatched UBEC grant before January 15, 2024.
In the failure to do that, an order of mandamus will be obtained to compel them to do so forthwith.
The un-accessed matching grant by state governments and the FCT administration from 2005 to 2023 is put at N80.1 billion. This is sad!
The failure of Nigerian state governments to access the UBEC fund to improve the quality of education in their respective states is a major issue that has resulted in millions of out-of-school children in the country.
We also hope that the current administration fulfills its promise to tackle the menace of out-of-school children.
The federal government has also promised to take 39 million children out of learning poverty. The roadmap, Education for Renewed Hope, focuses on out-of-school children, girl-child, skills, and entrepreneurship education.
Consequently, the state governments need to show more political will and commitment to the development of basic education in their states and ensure that funds meant for education are utilized for their intended purposes.
This will go a long way towards improving the quality of education in the country and reducing the number of out-of-school children.
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