The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has introduced a digital platform for managing its intervention funds and commenced work on a new 10-year strategic roadmap for basic education in Nigeria. This move aims to improve efficiency, transparency, and accountability in the management of funds. The Executive Secretary of UBEC, Dr. Aisha Garba, announced the reforms at a consultative meeting in Abuja.
The new digital workflow will replace the manual process of accessing UBEC funds, allowing states to develop, submit, review, and get approval for their action plans through an integrated online platform. This innovation builds on the unified framework and revised guidelines introduced in 2025, which all 36 states and the FCT adopted. According to Dr. Garba, technical support from UBEC helped many states access their matching grants.
The digital platform was developed by UBEC's BRT and Solina technical teams, working with relevant departments. The platform enables better decision-making, faster feedback, improved documentation, and stronger accountability. Dr. Garba explained that the commission has upgraded the process into an integrated digital workflow that improves efficiency, transparency, timeliness, traceability, and consistency across the fund access cycle.
UBEC is replacing the current 2021–2030 plan with a new framework for 2026–2035 to align with ongoing reforms in the education sector and emerging national and global priorities. The new roadmap will focus on policy prioritisation, resource alignment, institutional coordination, monitoring, and results-based accountability. It aims to drive the shift from “education for all” to “learning for all”.
The new roadmap will guide states in developing realistic, evidence-based medium-term plans that respond to local needs. Dr. Garba urged chairmen and Directors of Planning, Research and Statistics of State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBs) to take ownership of the reforms by ensuring timely data submission, disciplined planning, and sustained collaboration with UBEC.
The meeting was expected to agree on system requirements, implementation timelines, reporting obligations, capacity-building needs, and coordination mechanisms to make both the digital system and the roadmap effective tools for improving learning outcomes. Stakeholders, including the Dean of SUBEBs, Shehu Adaramaja, and the Director of Physical Planning, Nura Ibrahim, emphasised the need for stronger coordination and effective physical planning.
The stakeholders' collaboration aims to improve accountability and learning environments. The new digital platform and roadmap are expected to enhance the management of intervention funds and improve learning outcomes in Nigeria's basic education sector. The implementation of these reforms will be closely monitored to ensure their effectiveness.
Key points
- UBEC introduces a digital platform for managing intervention funds to improve efficiency and transparency.
- A new 10-year strategic roadmap for basic education is being developed to align with ongoing reforms and emerging priorities.
- The roadmap aims to drive the shift from “education for all” to “learning for all” and guide states in developing realistic, evidence-based plans.
