Nigeria’s basic education sector could be in line for its biggest funding boost in two decades, with a proposed law seeking to raise the Universal Basic Education Commission’s (UBEC) share of federal revenue from two to five per cent. The amendment, if assented to by President Bola Tinubu, would push annual intervention funding up and also mandate direct payments to local government education authorities, OWEDE AGBAJILEKEreports.

Funding for basic education in Nigeria could rise to more than N3 trillion yearly following the proposedlaw increasing the allocation to the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) from two per cent to five per cent of the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF).

The increase, once signed into law by President Bola Tinubu, will boost funding for basic education by 150 per cent, marking one of the most significant investments in the sector since UBEC was established in 2004.

Under the current funding formula, the commission receives two per cent of the CRF as intervention funding for basic education. However, projections based on recent federal budget figures indicate that the proposed five per cent allocation could raise yearly funding from about N1.37 trillion to N3.42 trillion, representing an increase of more than N2 trillion.

Checks on the website of UBECshowed that Nigeria has more than 47 million pupils, over 171,027 schools and 1,686,535 teachers at the basic education level.

While the Senate approved the bill last June, the House of Representatives had previously endorsed a four per cent increase, setting the stage for the setting up of a conference committee to reconcile the differences between the two versions before the bill is transmitted to the President for official assent.

Stakeholders, including the Federal Ministry of Education, National Parent Teacher Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN) and AdvoKC Foundation, called on the conference committee, when constituted, to adopt the Senate version, describing the development as a major victory for citizen-led advocacy.

Specifically, the foundation had spent nearly a year campaigning for the amendment after the bill got stalled at the committee stage.

Titled: ‘A bill to amend the compulsory, free universal basic education and other related matters act’,it seeks to revise the 2004 Universal Basic Education Act by increasing funding from two to five per cent.

It also provides for the direct disbursement of intervention funds to local government area education authorities, with the aim of reducing bureaucratic delays and ensuring resources reach schools more effectively.

Also, the amendment expands the right to compulsory, free universal basic education to include early childhood care development and education.

While the current law covers only primary and junior secondary education, the proposed change extends the entitlement to pre-primary level, broadens the range of stakeholders responsible for compliance, and increases penalties for violations.

The amendment is expected to unlock additional resources for classroom construction and renovation, teacher recruitment and capacity building, as well as the expansion of digital learning infrastructure and other critical educational needs.

For years, education stakeholders have maintained that the current funding structure falls short of addressing the sector’s pressing challenges, including inadequate infrastructure, shortage of qualified teachers, and persistent learning gaps affecting millions of pupils nationwide.

Some analysts said enhanced funding could significantly improve access to quality education and strengthen the implementation of the UBE programme countrywide, particularly in underserved communities.

Others, however, caution that increased funding alone may not translate into better outcomes unless accompanied by greater accountability, efficient utilisation of resources, improved monitoring mechanisms and stronger commitment by state governments to education development.

The proposed increase comes at a time of mounting concerns over Nigeria’s estimated 15 million out-of-school children—one of the largest populationof in the world.

The challenge is worsened by insufficient funding, inadequate infrastructure and obstacles that hinder many students from progressing from junior to senior secondary school.

Also, data presented at the Nigeria Education Forum last year highlighted the scale of the country’s education crisis, revealing that millions of children are being lost along the education pathway.

According to the figures, out of the 30 million children who enrol in primary school nationwide, only 10 million progress to junior secondary, while just about six million eventually reach senior secondary.

The data indicated that approximately 24 million children fail to make it to senior secondary school, underscoring the significant challenges of retention and transition within Nigeria’s school system.

In a further boost to the proposed legislation seeking to raise funding for basic education, NAPTAN described the proposal as a “game-changer” capable of transforming Nigeria’s struggling sub-sector, long plagued by inadequate funding, poor infrastructure, teacher shortage and a growing population of out-of-school children.

NAPTAN’s National President, Prof Boniface Odeh, said increasing UBEC’s allocation to more than N3 trillion yearly would provide public schools with the resources needed to tackle dilapidated classrooms, shortages of instructional materials and inadequate incentives for teachers.

Odeh argued that basic education remains the foundation of national development,but has continued to receive insufficient funding despite its critical role in shaping the country’s future workforce.

NAPTAN also welcomed provisions in the bill that would allow direct disbursement of intervention funds to local government education authorities, saying the move would eliminate bureaucratic bottlenecks that have historically delayed the execution of education projects at the grassroots.

According to the group, channelingfunds directly to local education authorities would accelerate the delivery of classrooms, furniture and other school infrastructure, while strengthening accountability to parents and communities, even as it urged the National Assembly to expedite passage of the bill, insisting that Nigerian parents are closely monitoring the legislative process.

“We strongly commend the provision for direct disbursement of intervention funds to LGEAs. For too long, funds meant for classroom blocks and desks have been trapped in bureaucratic layers. Taking UBEC funds directly to the councils means faster project delivery and real accountability to parents at the grassroots,” Odeh added.

The association also called on state governments to ensure full payment of counterpart funding requirements to maximise access to UBEC intervention funds once the proposed law takes effect.

President of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’sRead and Earn Federation (UNESCO REF), Abdulsalami Ladigbolu-Oranmiyan, cautioned stakeholders against expecting a quick fix, arguing that without addressing the underlying causes of exclusion, increased funding and new school projects would have limited impact on reducing the number of out-of-school children.

Ladigbolu-Oranmiyan said the country’s growing number of out-of-school children is driven by a combination of poverty, insecurity, cultural practices, inadequate infrastructure and other socio-economic barriers that require targeted interventions.

He maintained that government efforts should begin with a comprehensive assessment of the factors responsible for keeping millions of children out of classrooms, stressing that effective solutions must go beyond physical infrastructure.

He noted that reducing education to the construction of school buildings risks turning the sector into a “real estate project,” rather than a transformative investment in human capital.

“Until education is seen not merely as a source of income, but as the foundation for sustaining Nigeria’s future relevance and development, progress will remain limited,” he said.

Ladigbolu-Oranmiyan noted that the challenges are not uniform across the country, citing data showing that learning poverty stands at 64 per cent among rural children,compared to 54 per cent for their urban counterparts.

The education advocate also highlighted persistent gender disparities, noting that girls are more likely to be excluded from secondary education than boys, while insecurity in parts of the North-east and North-central regions continues to push school exclusion rates above the national average.

In his intervention, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Prakis Educational Services, Prof Aderemi Obilana, described the government’s decision as a step in the right direction, stressing that local governments, due to their closeness to grassroots communities, remain the most strategic tier of government for driving improvements in basic education.

Obilana, who also serves as a visiting professor at the University Institute of Applied and Human Sciences in the Republic of Chad, said the move aligns with the mandate of UNESCO, which advocates compulsory basic education for every child regardless of socio-economic background.

He noted that the funds should be judiciously invested in upgrading school infrastructure, providing learning and teaching support materials, strengthening teacher capacity, and expanding early childhood education programmes across the country.

The don, however, cautioned that robust accountability mechanisms must be put in place to prevent abuse of the funds.

He tasked the government to establish an independent monitoring body and develop clear guidelines on the permissible uses of the allocations to ensure they achieve their intended objectives.

Without such safeguards, he warned that some local governments could divert the resources, undermining efforts to improve access to quality basic education.

Also, the National Mobilisation Officer, Education Rights Campaign (ERC), Michael Adaramoye, described the proposed increase as a positive development, noting that years of chronic underfunding and poor management of resources have significantly undermined the quality and accessibility of basic education in Nigeria.

According to him, the country’s out-of-school children population underscored the urgent need for greater investment in the sector.

He, however, argued that the first step should be a transparent and democratic audit of the financial activities of UBEC and its state counterparts, insisting that there is little evidence of commensurate impact from the funds disbursed to the agencies over the years.

Adaramoye further called for a comprehensive and transparent assessment of the condition of basic schools nationwide to provide an accurate picture of existing challenges and the resources required to revitalise the sector.

He maintained that such an exercise would help ensure that increased funding is directed towards addressing critical infrastructure deficits, improving learning conditions and expanding access to quality basic education for all Nigerian children.

“The starting point should be an open, transparent and democratic probe into the financial activities of UBEC, as well as SUBEBs. This is because there has really been nothing significant to show for the funds received over the years.

“Importantly, for this improved funding to lead to improved quality and accessibility of basic education, UBEC and other basic education commissions must be democratised to include the active participation of unions, like the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), parent associations and pro-education civil society groups. This is to ensure funds are utilised to meet the needs of students and teachers, and not siphoned or used for white-elephant projects with little or no impact on basic education.”