The federal government has announced an increase in the statutory allocation of Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) matching grants; however, this is concerning because many states struggle to access the funding.

Development Diaries reports that previously, states were getting about N1.3 billion per year as matching grants, but the grant has been jacked up to 3.3 billion.

This is concerning because many states have yet to access their 2023 matching grants, amounting to N1,395,784,959.14 as of 01 July, 2024.

This delay highlights an ongoing issue where states struggle to meet the counterpart funding requirements, thereby hampering the effective utilisation of these critical resources to enhance basic education in the country.

This is exactly what the federal government should look to address; ensuring that state governments meet up criteria to access the grants.

Another problem identified by stakeholders on why most states are unable to utilise UBEC funding is that the guideline they receive from UBEC is heavy on construction, so it does not give states the flexibility to spend the resources on what they consider as a state priority.

It is also unfortunate to note that some state governments have abdicated their responsibility of funding basic education, as in many of the states, the intervention funding makes up 90 percent of the funding to basic education.

According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Nigeria is experiencing a learning crisis that is made worse by the growing issue of out-of-school children, hence it is surprising that some state governments have not made education a priority.

It can also be said that UBEC lacks strong enforcement mechanisms based on the Universal Basic Education (UBE) Act of 2004 as the law does not provide for an oversight body to ensure compliance.

Given the persistent challenges in accessing UBEC matching grants, it is necessary to reassess the provisions of the UBE Act.

A review of the UBE Act could adjust the counterpart funding requirements and also include mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation to effect implementation and ensure that no state is left behind.

Development Diaries calls for the amendment of the UBE Act to include a monitoring mechanism and a results-based framework that provides additional resources to states that meet certain deliverables in educational outcomes.

Photo source: Doug Linstedt