The Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission has announced that 34 states and the Federal Capital Territory have not yet accessed the 2024 Universal Basic Education matching grant. This revelation came during a recent oversight visit by the Senate Committee on Education to the commission.
According to the Executive Secretary, only Katsina and Kaduna have successfully accessed their first two quarters of the 2024 matching grant. He highlighted that the failure to access these funds poses a significant obstacle for basic and junior secondary education.
Detailing the matching grants accessed from 2020 to 2024, it was noted that while 34 states and the FCT had accessed the 2020 grants, two states—Abia and Ogun—have yet to do so. For 2021, 33 states and the FCT benefited, leaving Abia, Imo, and Ogun still waiting. In 2022, 29 states accessed the grants, with seven states remaining unserved. The most recent data showed that 25 states accessed the grants from 2023.
The commission received N263.04 billion and N103.29 billion, corresponding to 2 percent of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, in the 2024 and 2023 Appropriation Acts, respectively. While the full amount for 2023 was released, N219.20 billion, or 83.33 percent of the 2024 allocation, has been disbursed.
When evaluating state performances in accessing the UBE grants by geopolitical zones as of October 31, the North West zone achieved a commendable 100 percent, followed by the South-South at 97.92 percent and North Central at 97.76 percent. Challenges faced by the commission include insufficient political will from certain state governments, low budget allocations for basic education, and the need for improved teacher quality.
The Executive Secretary also highlighted non-compliance with the Federal Government’s directive on teaching history in basic schools and the significant number of out-of-school children as critical issues. Concerns regarding these challenges were voiced by members of the Senate Committee on Education, particularly regarding the high rate of out-of-school children in northern states despite increased funding.
The committee chair expressed gratitude for UBEC’s efforts and called for the implementation of the committee’s recommendations along with enhancements to the commission’s operational framework.
