Matching grants: 25 states, FCT accessed N92.4bn in 6 months, says UBEC

By Joseph Erunke, Abuja

The Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC, has disclosed that between January and June 2025, the sum of N92.4 billion, being the Universal Basic Education, UBE Matching Grant, has been accessed by 25 states and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.

This came as the commission said it disbursed N19 billion, being the 2023/2024 Teacher Professional Development, TPD fund, to 32 states and the FCT.

UBEC Executive Secretary, Aisha Garba, who stated this in Abuja on Monday while declaring open a three-day financial management training for State Universal Basic Education Commission (SUBEB) officials, said the commission has also released N1.5 billion School Based Management Committee (SBMC) School Improvement Programme (SBMC-SIP) fund to 1,147 communities in the 36 states and the FCT.

Mrs Garba also disclosed that the sum of N250 billion in matching grants has been unutilised by the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

Garba, who was represented by the Deputy Executive Secretary (Technical) at the Commission, Rasaq Akinyemi, expressed worry over the poor attention being given to matching grants by state governments.

“I am glad to inform this gathering that between January to June, 2025, the sum of N92.4 billion, being UBE Matching Grant, has been accessed by 25 states and the FCT. Furthermore, the Commission disbursed N19 billion being the 2023/2024 Teacher Professional Development (TPD) fund to 32 states and FCT and N1.5 billion SBMC School Improvement Programme (SBMC-SIP) fund to 1,147 communities in the 36 states and FCT,”she said.

Speaking further, she said, “While the above achievement reflects a significant gain, the basic challenge still remains not only accessing the remaining UBE Intervention Fund, but importantly the slow utilisation of the Fund with over N250b still being retained as un-utilised in the coffers of the 36 SUBEBs & FCT-UBEB as at today”.

The UBEC boss, speaking on the theme, ‘Efficient and Effective Management of the UBE intervention funds’, emphasized the need for states to take advantage of the funds to improve the quality of education, infrastructure, and teacher training, stressing that efficient management of these funds is crucial to achieving the goals of the Universal Basic Education programme.

The theme, she said, resonates with its commitment to continuous improvement in the management of basic education funds in respective states and ensuring that all financial resources allocated for UBE delivery are properly managed and effectively utilised.

According to her, the training would cover a range of pertinent areas, including the new template for preparing SUBEB Action Plans, an overview of the Nigerian Tax Reforms Act 2025, financial infractions,and violations resulting in audit queries.

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