FG opens door for states to claim backlog of UBE grants

The federal government is pursuing a plan to facilitate the release of a five-year backlog in unused basic education grants.

Funding from the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), intended to improve public schools, has largely gone unaccessed.

The normal practice for states to access the universal basic education fund has long involved a counterpart funding arrangement.

States were required to provide a matching grant, usually 50 per cent of the total cost of projects, to access a federal contribution.

As stipulated in the UBE Act of 2004, they must also present an action plan detailing how they intend to use the funds.

But states have often failed to provide matching funds, causing billions to remain unclaimed and contributing to infrastructure shortages in schools.

Over the years, as a result, there have been calls for the direct release of UBEC funds to states to reduce the problem of unaccessed funds.

Empired Newswire reports on Thursday that the education ministry has developed a strategy that provides state governors with detailed data on how these funds can transform primary education in their respective states.

This includes information on teacher training, classroom construction, and reducing the number of out-of-school children.

Letters have also been sent to governors, outlining the specific amounts available and the potential impact of utilising them.

One of such letters addressed to the Ogun state governor revealed that the state is entitled to N7.8 billion in unaccessed UBE grants between 2020 and 2024.

To access the funds, the ministry asked Governor Dapo Abiodun to “provide an equal amount of N7,816,600,698.99k being state counterpart fund in compliance with Section 11 subsection 2 of the UBE ACT 2004 to enable state access the funds”.

The letter also outlined the potential impact the funds could have on the state’s education system, including the rehabilitation of over 5000 classrooms and the training of over 14,000 teachers.

As of December 2024, 34 states and the FCT had yet to access N263 billion in UBE matching grants for 2024.

However, Borno, Jigawa, and Kano have recently paid their counterpart funds, unlocking access to their allocations.

Tunji Alausa, the education minister, has urged the states to provide their counterpart funding as required to access the funds.

The government, he added, hopes this new approach will lead to a significant improvement in basic education across Nigeria.