In its bid to build a strong basic education system in Nigeria, the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has recovered unaccessed matching grants valued at over ₦100 billion and increased funding for basic education classrooms, teachers training and digital learning to date.
The UBEC states that these recovered funds are the ones that had been accruing over a period of several years as a result of the inability of some governments of states to fulfill the stipulations of getting access to the statutory UBEC matching funds, such as making counterpart funding.
All the resources recovered are now channeled again to accelerate important interventions in education to boost learning outcomes across the country, said the commission.
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The changes made by the commission include increased construction and rehabilitation of classrooms, school furniture and provision of teaching aids, and development of school digital learning infrastructure to enhance the quality of teaching and learning in public basic education schools, UBEC revealed.
Professional development of teachers was also mentioned as a continuous process needed to improve the classroom delivery, as this is the only way teachers will be able to acquire new teaching approaches, which include using the most updated teaching methods available such as the effective use of educational technology, emphasized by the commission.
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To support its wider reform programme, UBEC has been pushing for increased integration of digital tools for learning to ensure that pupils are ready to learn in a technology-rich environment, it added.
It involves the rollout of digital learning materials and the nurturing of tech-enabled teaching at the participating schools.
UBEC restated the need for concerted efforts between the Federal and State Governments to make the Universal Basic Education programme work.
The commission recommended that those States that have not accessed intervention funds they have available, should meet their counterpart funding requirements on time to avoid forfeiture of future intervention funds to enhance access to quality education.
However, the unclaimed grants has been publicized as an opportunity by the education stakeholders to boost education infrastructure, minimize learning gaps and enhance the learning outcomes for millions of Nigerian learners in public Junior secondary schools and primary schools.
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The new interventions are part of continuous initiatives aimed at improving access to quality, inclusive and equitable basic education, geared towards supporting Nigeria’s education development goals.
