KEY POINTS

• The Federal Government has allocated over ₦5 billion through UBEC to improve education access and reduce out-of-school children.
• The programme will benefit 518 communities, focusing on infrastructure, facilities, and community participation.
• A separate ₦5 billion retention initiative aims to keep one million pupils in school and reduce dropout rates.

The Federal Government has allocated over ₦5 billion to improve access to basic education and reduce the number of out-of-school children across Nigeria through the UBEC initiative.

The intervention, implemented by the Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC, focuses on rehabilitating classrooms, providing furniture, and improving water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) facilities.

The initiative will cover 518 communities nationwide, with each state and the Federal Capital Territory benefiting from interventions in 14 schools.

UBEC has reported previous interventions
UBEC reported that previous interventions supported over 1,112 schools, with more than ₦1.5 billion disbursed and 13,670 projects executed nationwide. These efforts are expected to help return over 400,000 out-of-school children to classrooms.

Additionally, ₦434.5 million has been released as the final tranche for ongoing projects under the 2023 and 2024 cycles, covering 11,484 projects nationwide.

To further tackle dropout rates, UBEC has also launched a Learner Retention Support Programme with a separate ₦5 billion budget. The pilot phase will target one million pupils across eight states.

Speaking on the initiative, Minister of Education Tunji Alausa, represented by Folake Olatunji-David, described the interventions as vital to achieving inclusive and quality education. He urged stakeholders, including state education boards and community leaders, to ensure transparency and accountability in the use of the funds.