By Joseph Erunke
Abuja-The Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC, has said that between January and June, 2025, N92.4 billion matching grant has been accessed by 25 states and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.
The commission also said it disbursed N19 billion, being the 2023/2024 Teacher Professional Development,TPD, fund to 32 states and the FCT.
UBEC Executive Secretary, Aisha Garba, who disclosed this while declaring open a three-day financial management training for State Universal Basic Education Commission, SUBEB, officials in Abuja yesterday, said the commission had also released N1.5 billion School Based Management Committee, SBMC, School Improvement Programme, SBMC-SIP, fund to 1,147 communities in the 36 states and the FCT.
Garba also disclosed that the sum of N250 billion in matching grants had been unutilised by the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The UBEC boss, who was represented by the Deputy Executive Secretary (Technical) at the commission, Rasaq Akinyemi, expressed worry over the poor attention being given to matching grants by state governments.
“I am glad to inform this gathering that between January and June, 2025, the sum of N92.4 billion, being UBE matching grant, has been accessed by 25 states and FCT.
‘’Furthermore, the commission disbursed N19 billion, being the 2023/2024 Teacher Professional Development, TPD, fund to 32 states and FCT and N1.5 billion SBMC School Improvement Programme, SBMC-SIP, fund to 1,147 communities in the 36 states and FCT.
“While the above achievement reflects a significant gain, the basic challenge remains not only accessing the remaining UBE intervention fund, but importantly the slow utilization of the Fund with over N250billion still being retained as unutilised in the coffers of the 36 SUBEBs & FCT-UBEB as at today,’’ she said.
The UBEC boss, speaking on the theme, ‘’Efficient and Effective Management of the UBE intervention funds’’, emphasised the need for states to take advantage of the funds to improve the quality of education, infrastructure, and teachers’ training.
She stressed that efficient management of these funds was crucial to achieving the goals of the Universal Basic Education, UBE, programme.
The theme, she said, resonated with its commitment to continuous improvement in the management of basic education funds in respective states, ensuring that all financial resources allocated for UBE delivery were properly managed and effectively utilised.
According to her, the training will cover a range of pertinent areas, including the new template for preparing SUBEB Action Plans, overview of Nigerian Tax Reforms Act 2025, financial infractions, and violations resulting in audit queries.
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