The Universal Basic Education Commission has attributed the failure of several states to access about N68bn in intervention funds to systemic inefficiencies and outdated work plan templates that have been in use for more than a decade.
Executive Secretary of UBEC, Dr Aisha Garba, said the challenges had slowed down utilisation of the funds meant to improve basic education across the country.
Speaking in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, at a training workshop for South-South States Universal Basic Education Boards Directors and Desk Officers of Physical Planning on Wednesday, Garba explained that the commission had revised the Basic Education Action Plan template to remove bottlenecks and ensure accountability.
Represented by her Special Assistant, Ibrahim Gold, Garba said the new template, which was officially unveiled in Makurdi on May 25, 2025, was designed to simplify processes for states to access the intervention funds, including matching grants, teacher professional development, and special needs allocations.
“Accordingly, this capacity building workshop is in line with reforms, especially in the area of developing work plans to access the UBE Intervention Funds. The thinking in the Commission is to have only one work plan for the different envelopes of the intervention funds. Therefore, the need to come up with workable and user-friendly templates for the preparation of work plans to replace the existing one that has been in operation for over two decades,” she said.
Garba noted that states’ failure to meet the basic requirements had left billions of naira lying dormant at a time when public schools struggle with inadequate facilities and poor learning outcomes.
Director of Physical Planning at UBEC, Sadiq Saiad, and the Executive Chairman of Akwa Ibom SUBEB, Dr Aniette Etuk, in their separate remarks, urged participants to pay close attention to the training to ensure the new tools translate into improved access to funds.
The commission said a similar workshop held for northern states in Kano earlier in the year had yielded encouraging results, adding that it expects better compliance from the South-South region.
