By Peter Omopo
The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has unlocked more than N100 billion in previously unaccessed matching grants, paving the way for significant investments aimed at improving basic education infrastructure and learning outcomes across Nigeria.
UBEC Executive Secretary, Dr. Aisha Garba, disclosed this during a media parley with members of the Education Correspondents Association of Nigeria (ECAN) in Abuja.
She explained that the funds, which had remained dormant due to the inability of some states and the Federal Capital Territory to access the grants, are now being deployed to upgrade public primary and junior secondary schools in collaboration with State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBs).
According to Garba, the intervention has resulted in the construction of more than 4,600 classrooms, the renovation of over 6,100 classrooms, the rehabilitation of 2,780 toilet facilities, and the drilling of 678 boreholes to improve access to clean water in schools nationwide.
She added that UBEC has also established over 2,300 Early Childhood Care Development and Education (ECCDE) centres to strengthen foundational learning for young children.
Highlighting the commission’s commitment to improving teaching quality, Garba revealed that more than N20.4 billion has been invested in teacher professional development and school leadership programmes to enhance classroom instruction and education management.
She further disclosed that UBEC is expanding digital literacy centres, strengthening smart schools, and integrating artificial intelligence, coding, and robotics into the basic education curriculum to prepare pupils with skills required in the digital economy.
The Executive Secretary also noted that the commission has distributed over 7.8 million instructional materials to schools across the country to support literacy, numeracy, and foundational learning, while promoting accountability through the Effective Schools Programme and strengthened School-Based Management Committees.
Garba reaffirmed UBEC’s commitment to ensuring that every Nigerian child has access to safe, inclusive, and quality basic education.
Speaking at the event, the Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), FCT Council, Grace Ike, commended UBEC for establishing a communications department and urged the commission to sustain regular engagement with education correspondents through media briefings, capacity-building workshops, and project inspection visits.
Also speaking, ECAN Chairman, Chuks Ukwatu, described the meeting as UBEC’s first direct engagement with education journalists and called for greater collaboration by involving reporters in monitoring education projects across the states to enhance transparency and public accountability.
