The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has stressed the urgent need for a new and user-friendly template for preparing work plans, saying the old system in use for over a decade has hindered states from accessing billions of naira meant for basic education development.

Speaking in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, at a training workshop for South-South States’ Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEB) Directors and Desk Officers of the Department of Physical Planning on Wednesday, UBEC Executive Secretary, Aisha Garba, urged policy implementers to embrace the revised Basic Education Action Plan template.

According to her, the new template is designed to eliminate bottlenecks that have prevented states from accessing about N68 billion dormant funds.

Garba, represented by her Special Assistant, Ibrahim Gold, explained: “Accordingly, this capacity building workshop is in line with reforms, especially in the area of developing work plans to access the UBE Intervention Funds. The thinking in the Commission is to have only one work plan for the different envelopes of the intervention funds i.e. Matching Grants, Teacher Professional Development, Special Needs etc. Therefore, the need to come up with workable and user-friendly templates for the preparation of work plans to replace the existing one that has been in operation for over two decades.”

She further noted that states’ inability to access funds was largely due to “associated complexities caused by slow utilisation and systemic inefficiencies.”

The revised template, first unveiled in Makurdi on May 25, 2025, introduces results-based planning and financial accountability. The workshop was aimed at equipping SUBEB Directors and Desk Officers with the tools and knowledge needed for effective implementation in their states.

Reflecting on the success of a similar exercise held in Kano for northern states, Garba challenged participants in the South-South to surpass expectations.

In their separate remarks, the Director of Physical Planning at UBEC, Alhaji Sadiq Saiad, and the Executive Chairman of Akwa Ibom SUBEB, Dr. Aniette Etuk, encouraged participants to pay close attention to details. “We urge you to take this exercise seriously, as your dedication will determine whether the goals of this new template are achieved,” they said.

The UBEC Act of 2004 empowers the commission to coordinate, monitor, and implement Nigeria’s basic education programme, which covers primary and junior secondary schooling. However, accessing intervention funds requires states to provide a counterpart contribution.

Despite this arrangement, investigations show that billions remain unutilised each year. In March 2024, Punch reported that 27 states and the FCT failed to access N36.1 billion in UBEC matching grants for 2023, even as schools continue to struggle with dilapidated infrastructure, inadequate teaching staff, and overcrowded classrooms.

The crisis is further underscored by UNICEF data, which reveals that 18.3 million Nigerian children are currently out of school—the highest figure in the world