Over N135bn matching grants not accessed by state govts –UBEC

The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has revealed that a staggering sum of N135,540,905,308.92 billion in matching grants has not been accessed by states between 2020 and 2024.

The Executive Secretary of UBEC, Dr. Hamid Bobboyi, disclosed this during his presentation of the 2023 and 2024 budget implementation report to the Senate Committee on Basic and Secondary Education on Monday in Abuja.

Bobboyi clarified that the current year’s budget (2024) would be disbursed in the following year, which means that the allocated funds did not usually lapse, unlike funds allocated to other organisations.

He, however, expressed concern that many states had failed to meet the necessary conditions to access these funds, leaving much-needed resources untapped for educational development.

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He pointed out that despite some progress, nine states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) had not accessed the 2023 UBE Matching Grant.

“In terms of regional performance, the North-West Zone has performed the best, achieving 100 per cent access to the UBE matching grant, while the South-South Zone has accessed 97.92 per cent of its allocated funds,” he added.

Bobboyi further disclosed that Katsina and Kaduna have set a positive example by accessing the 2024 UBE Matching Grant early, adding that other states such as Ogun, Abia, and Imo were missing out on the 2020 and 2021 matching grants.

Giving the breakdown of the report, he revealed that seven states had yet to access the 2022 UBE matching grant, adding that the South-East zone was lagging, having accessed only 85.37 per cent of its 2022 matching funds.

He said: “34 states and FCT have accessed 2020 Matching Grant, two states namely Abia and Ogun have not. 33 states and FCT have accessed 2021 matching grant, three states namely Abia, Imo and Ogun have not.

“29 states and FCT have accessed 2022 matching grant, seven states namely: Abia, Adamawa, Anambra, Ebonyi, Imo, Ogun and Oyo have not. 25 states have accessed 1-4th Quarter 2023 matching grant, one state, Rivers, accessed 1st-2nd Quarter 2023 Matching Grant.”

“Nine states and FCT have not accessed 2023 matching grant. The states are: Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Ebonyi, Imo, Lagos, Ogun, Oyo and Plateau.

“Two states namely Katsina and Kaduna have accessed 1-2nd Quarter, 2024 matching grant, 34 states and FCT have not accessed 2024 matching grant,” he added.

Dr. Bobboyi provided a detailed performance breakdown by region in accessing the UBE matching grant.

“North-West Zone came 1st position with 100 per cent accessed, south-south zone-2nd position with 97.92 per cent accessed, north-central zone, 3rd position with 97.76 per cent accessed, north-east zone, 4th position with 97.57 per cent accessed, south-west Zone, 5th position with 92.28 per cent accessed, south-east zone, 6th position with 85.37per cent accessed.”

The executive secretary said several challenges hindered the effective implementation of the 2023 and 2024 budgets.

He attributed the challenges to lack of political will and commitment by some state governments towards basic education issues, as well as the high number of out-of-school children, including the Almajiri and children with special needs.

Bobboyi maintained that getting these children into formal education remained a significant hurdle.

Other challenges include low budgetary allocations for basic education at the state and local government levels, and increasing insecurity around schools in certain parts of the country.

Violent crimes such as insurgency, banditry, kidnappings, and communal crises have contributed to a difficult environment for schools in some regions.

Dr. Bobboyi also noted the slow pace of project execution by the State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBs) as another major bottleneck.

Earlier, the Chairman Senate Committee on Education (Basic and Secondary), Lawal Adams Usman, stressed the importance of basic education for the development and future of the nation.

He said the committee, as the primary oversight body for UBEC, visited the commission in compliance with Section 88 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

The visit aimed to assess the level of compliance with the full implementation of the 2023/24 budget, identify inefficiencies, waste, and challenges, and make recommendations for improvements.

Senator Usman further explained that the committee would also tour some physical intervention projects, such as the UBEC ICT Centre and Smart Schools within the FCT, to gain a better understanding of the impact of the grants.

While commending the commission for its work so far, he urged UBEC to do more, especially considering the outdated nature and challenges of its enabling law, which is currently being reviewed by the National Assembly.