The programme, unveiled in April, has a total allocation of N5.18 billion and is expected to benefit 518 schools across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory
KaNo —
The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has announced plans to commence a nationwide verification exercise covering 518 schools ahead of the rollout of its 2025 School-Based Management Committee–School Improvement Programme (SBMC-SIP)
The programme is a key intervention designed to strengthen infrastructure and community participation in Nigeria’s basic education sector.
The verification, scheduled to begin at the end of June and continue into early July, will involve physical inspection of schools nominated by states to confirm their existence and assess their infrastructural needs before the disbursement of intervention funds.
The move underscores UBEC’s renewed emphasis on transparency, accountability, and impact-driven spending in the education sector.
The programme, unveiled in April, has a total allocation of N5.18 billion and is expected to benefit 518 schools across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Speaking during a three-day training and retraining workshop held in Lagos for state and non-state actors from the 17 southern states, UBEC’s Head of Community Empowerment and Development in the Social Mobilisation Department, Patricia Oche, said the verification process was a critical safeguard to ensure that only deserving schools benefit from the intervention.
The training, organised in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund, focused on revised operational documents guiding the activities of School-Based Management Committees (SBMCs), which play a central role in identifying and implementing community-driven education projects.
Oche explained that while states initially submitted 18 schools each for consideration, only 14 would ultimately qualify based on UBEC’s guidelines after the verification exercise.
According to her, the process is necessary to eliminate fraudulent nominations and ensure that resources are directed to schools with genuine needs.
“We are about to start the 2025 intervention. It is a bit late, but we are going to begin verification at the end of this month towards early July. The SBMCs select the schools they feel are in dire need and send them to us. We then verify these schools because some people might be dubious,” she said.
She added that instances of false submissions, including non-existent schools, have necessitated stricter monitoring and on-the-ground inspections. “People may submit names of schools that do not exist, so we have to physically confirm that the schools exist and that the deficiencies reported are actually there,” she noted.
Following verification, UBEC will select the final list of beneficiary schools and begin the disbursement of funds.
To ensure accountability, Oche disclosed that the funds would be released in two tranches, with 75 per cent paid upfront and the remaining 25 per cent disbursed after monitoring and evaluation of project implementation.
“We give them 75 per cent first and the remaining 25 per cent after monitoring because some of them misuse the money,” she said
She further noted that the phased funding approach is designed to discourage mismanagement and ensure that projects are completed as planned.
Oche explained that the decision was driven by a strategic focus on quality over quantity, allowing for increased funding per school and more impactful interventions.
“We want quality, not quantity. The Executive Secretary decided that we should reduce the number of schools and increase the funding so that beneficiaries can execute meaningful projects,” she stated
The intervention will support a wide range of community-identified projects, including the construction and rehabilitation of classrooms, provision of toilets and furniture, and development of access infrastructure such as roads and bridges.
According to Oche, any project that improves access to education and enhances the learning environment will be considered.
To strengthen implementation, UBEC has also developed three revised operational documents to guide SBMCs and other stakeholders.
These include the SBMC Operational Manual for training committee members, a Monitoring and Mentoring Pack for tracking progress at the community level, and the School Improvement Plan Implementation Manual, which provides detailed guidance on project execution.
“We train the SBMCs once they are selected because every year we have new beneficiaries who need to understand how to implement the projects successfully,” Oche explained.
Earlier, the Executive Secretary of UBEC, Aisha Garba, who was represented at the event by the Deputy Executive Secretary (Technical), Rasaq Akinyemi, urged participants to ensure that the revised operational guidelines are effectively implemented in their respective states.
She called on stakeholders to take ownership of the programme and ensure that the funds are utilised for their intended purposes.
Also speaking, a resource person from Bayero University Kano, Hafsat Yakasai, said the revised manuals were updated to address emerging challenges in the education sector, including insecurity and climate-related disruptions.
She explained that the updated documents were simplified to enhance understanding among community members while introducing improved monitoring tools to measure the performance of SBMCs.
According to her, addressing non-financial challenges is essential to achieving sustainable improvements in basic education.
“There are new dimensions of challenges affecting education beyond funding.
Communities need to be equipped with strategies to mitigate these challenges, while creating awareness and mobilising local participation,” she said.
On his part, the National Chairman of SBMCs, Abdullahi Umar, stressed the importance of community ownership in safeguarding schools, particularly in the face of rising insecurity across parts of the country.
“The issue of insecurity is a new phenomenon. There are many schools, and nobody can predict which one will be attacked next. Communities must use their eyes and ears to monitor their environment and prepare for potential threats,” he said.
Umar added that local communities have a direct stake in the success of schools, as they serve their children and future generations.
He highlighted regional disparities in education challenges, noting that while the North grapples with high numbers of out-of-school children, some parts of the South face different gender-related dynamics in school enrolment.
“Anyway, they are our own; our children attend those schools, and we cannot afford to treat what is ours with levity. I have gone round the country, and I can see the peculiar problems of each zone,” he said.
In her remarks, UNICEF Education Specialist, Nneka Ogbansiegbe, reiterated the importance of community participation in achieving sustainable progress in the education sector.
She noted that beyond addressing infrastructure gaps, communities play a vital role in promoting enrolment, monitoring performance, and ensuring accountability in the use of public funds.
According to her, active community engagement can also help ensure that budgetary allocations to education are effectively utilised, thereby improving overall outcomes in the sector.
Other stakeholders present at the event included Damian-Mary Adeleke of the Civil Society Action Coalition on Education for All, Dean of the Directorate of Social Mobilisation, Joy Otoworo, and Head of Public/Private Engagement and Partnership at UBEC, Abdulmumuni Abdulsalam.
The verification exercise and subsequent rollout of the SBMC-SIP intervention represent a significant effort by UBEC to improve basic education delivery through community-driven solutions, enhanced monitoring, and a renewed focus on transparency.
As the programme unfolds, stakeholders say its success will depend largely on effective implementation, sustained oversight, and the active participation of communities across the country.
