Education Reforms: UBEC Unlocks ₦100bn For Schools Upgrade, Teachers Training
Nigeria’s basic education system is witnessing a renewed push for measurable results, with over ₦100 billion in previously untapped matching grants now mobilised to improve schools, strengthen teacher capacity and expand access to quality learning nationwide.
Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Dr Aisha Garba, disclosed this during a media luncheon with education correspondents on Thursday, saying the Commission was moving beyond reforms to delivering tangible outcomes under its 2025-2031 Strategic Blueprint and the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Garba said the funds, mobilised in partnership with state governments and the Federal Capital Territory, have facilitated the construction of over 4,600 classrooms, the renovation of more than 6,100 others, the provision of 2,780 toilets, and the sinking of 678 boreholes.
UBEC has also supplied over 334,000 pieces of school furniture and supported the establishment of more than 2,300 Early Childhood Care Development and Education Centres.
According to Garba, the Commission has invested over ₦20.4 billion in teacher professional development and distributed more than 7.8 million instructional materials nationwide to strengthen literacy, numeracy and foundational learning.
She said UBEC was equally accelerating digital transformation through Digital Literacy Centres, Smart Schools and training in artificial intelligence, coding and robotics to equip Nigerian children with future-ready skills.
The Executive Secretary added that the Commission was expanding access to education through Open Schooling, the integration of Qur’anic and Tsangaya education, as well as girl-child and inclusive education programmes.
Speaking at the event, Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), FCT Council, Comrade Grace Ike, described journalists as critical partners in promoting transparency, holding duty-bearers accountable and highlighting achievements and gaps within the education sector.
Ike called for regular media briefings, capacity-building programmes, field visits to UBEC-funded projects, greater access to information and stronger collaboration between the Commission and education correspondents.
Chairman of the Education Correspondents Association of Nigeria (ECAN), Chux Ukwuatu, also sought deeper engagement between UBEC and journalists, including opportunities for correspondents to participate in project inspection visits outside Abuja.
According to him, firsthand access to projects would enable journalists to provide fairer and more accurate reports on both the successes and challenges of UBEC interventions.
The stakeholders’ engagement, described as the first of its kind with UBEC in over nine years, signals a renewed effort by the Garba-led Commission to strengthen transparency, media relations and public accountability while improving access to quality basic education across Nigeria.
The partnership between education authorities and the media has also gained momentum since Mr Ikharo Attah assumed office as Special Adviser on Media and Communications to the Minister of Education.
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