Education ministry defends UBEC ES over ‘malicious’ allegations

The federal ministry of education has dismissed allegations of misconduct against Aisha Garba, executive secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), describing them as “baseless” and “malicious”.

On Monday, the Education Rights Activists Coalition (ERAC) called on anti-corruption agencies to probe UBEC’s procurement processes.

In a statement on Tuesday, Tunji Alausa, the minister of education, said the claims were part of a “sponsored smear campaign” by ERAC.

“These attacks are the handiwork of disgruntled individuals determined to derail the progress being made in basic education under her leadership,” Alausa said.

The minister said Garba is a globally recognised education expert with more than 24 years of experience, including 15 years at the World Bank.

“She has brought integrity, competence, and global best practices to UBEC,” he said.

Alausa noted that UBEC has recorded significant progress under Garba’s leadership in areas like access, equity, and quality of education.

He added that the commission has built nearly 5,000 classrooms, renovated more than 3,000, and established early childhood care and development centres across the country.

“UBEC has also distributed over five million textbooks and 350,000 pieces of school furniture,” he said.

“In teacher development, more than 147,000 teachers have been trained in modern methods, while nearly 978,800 educators have benefited from what the ministry called the country’s “largest-ever” professional development initiative.”

The minister said a new curriculum to promote digital literacy and entrepreneurship is being developed in collaboration with the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC).

“Reforms introduced under Garba’s watch have improved utilisation of the Basic Education Action Plan (BEAP) and the matching grant formula, leading to the disbursement of N78.6 billion to 28 states and the FCT in 2024,” he added.

“Institutional partnerships have been strengthened with the World Bank, UNICEF, KOICA, the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), and the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

“Through the school-based management committee–school improvement programme, over 15,000 community-led projects have been executed.

“No financial infractions or breaches have been recorded under Aisha Garba’s leadership.

“We urge the public to disregard these orchestrated falsehoods. We stand firmly with her as she continues her transformational work to deliver quality, safe, and inclusive basic education to Nigerian children.”