In a renewed effort to tackle Nigeria’s growing out-of-school children crisis, the Federal Government has committed over ₦5 billion to grassroots education interventions to improve school infrastructure, strengthen community participation, and boost learner retention nationwide.
The intervention, being implemented by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) under its School-Based Management Committee–School Improvement Programme (SBMC-SIP), was officially flagged off in Abuja as part of the 2025 implementation cycle.
Executive Secretary of UBEC, Aisha Garba, disclosed that ₦5.18 billion had been earmarked for the programme, covering 518 communities nationwide, with each state and the Federal Capital Territory benefiting from interventions in 14 schools.
Garba, represented by the Deputy Executive Secretary (Technical), Rasaq Akinyemi, said the intervention is specifically targeted at underserved communities, focusing on rehabilitating dilapidated classrooms, providing school furniture, and upgrading water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) facilities.
She said the program reflects the government’s renewed determination to address barriers preventing children from accessing and completing basic education.
“This represents a renewed national commitment to strengthening community participation in school governance, improving learning environments across the Federation, and ensuring that every Nigerian child not only enrolls in school but remains in school to successfully complete basic education,” she said.
Garba explained that the event marked four major milestones, including a review of implementation progress under the 2023 and 2024 SBMC-SIP cycles, the disbursement of final tranche support funds for those cycles, the national flag-off of the 2025 SBMC-SIP, and the launch of the Learner Retention Programme.
According to her, the program has had a significant impact in previous cycles, with over 1,112 schools supported and more than ₦1.5 billion disbursed, leading to the execution of 13,670 projects nationwide.
She noted that the interventions are expected to help return more than 400,000 out-of-school children to classrooms by improving school conditions and making learning environments more conducive.
Garba also announced the release of ₦434.5 million as the final tranche of the 2023 and 2024 SBMC-SIP funds to support the completion of 11,484 ongoing projects nationwide.
In a related intervention, UBEC launched the Learner Retention Support Programme with a separate ₦5 billion budget, targeting one million pupils across eight states in its pilot phase to address rising dropout rates.
“Access to education is important, but retention is what ensures that its promise is fulfilled. We must address the realities that force children out of school,” she said.
Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, represented by the Director of Basic Education, Folake Olatunji-David, described the interventions as critical to achieving inclusive and quality education for all Nigerian children.
He urged State Universal Basic Education Boards, local authorities, and community leaders to ensure transparency and accountability in the utilization of the funds to guarantee tangible improvements in learning outcomes nationwide.
