The 2026 budgetary allocation to the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has raised important questions about how effectively public resources are being deployed to address Nigeria’s basic education challenges. According to details contained in the 2026 Appropriation Bill, UBEC was allocated ₦441.92 billion, of which ₦427.82 billion, representing 97.3 per cent, is earmarked for personnel expenditure, while only ₦12.11 billion, or 2.7 per cent, is allocated to capital projects.
The figures are striking, particularly given UBEC’s central responsibility in Nigeria’s basic education system. Established to coordinate and implement programmes aimed at improving universal basic education, the commission works with state governments and their Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBs) to provide infrastructure, learning materials and other interventions at the primary and junior secondary school levels. At a time when many public schools continue to face shortages of classrooms, furniture, instructional materials and other basic facilities, the relatively small capital allocation deserves closer scrutiny.
The issue is not simply that personnel expenditure is high. A public institution requires staff to function, and salaries constitute a legitimate and necessary component of government expenditure. The more fundamental question is whether the structure of UBEC’s expenditure is producing commensurate results in the classrooms where its statutory mandate is ultimately measured.
The budget details indicate that several of UBEC’s capital projects are relatively modest when compared with the scale of Nigeria’s basic education needs. The largest identified project, the construction and furnishing of one block of six classrooms across senatorial districts nationwide, has an allocation of about ₦2.8 billion. Other projects include the provision of instructional materials, classroom construction, renovation of school buildings, furniture and toilet facilities.
These interventions are relevant to basic education. However, the fragmented nature of the projects raises questions about their overall impact. Nigeria has a vast public-school system serving millions of children, and isolated construction and renovation projects may have limited impact unless they form part of a coordinated, measurable strategy for improving access, learning outcomes and school infrastructure.
There are also questions about some of the projects attributed to UBEC in the budget. Projects involving solar streetlights in communities, financial support for tertiary students and laptops for higher institutions appear, on the face of the descriptions, to fall outside the commission’s primary focus on basic education. Such allocations warrant clarification, particularly when resources available for core basic-education interventions are limited.
The broader performance question is therefore unavoidable. If UBEC’s statutory responsibility is to support the delivery of quality basic education, Nigerians should be able to track how its resources translate into functioning classrooms, adequate instructional materials, improved school facilities and better learning conditions.
This is particularly important because UBEC’s role extends beyond the commission’s own capital budget. Its effectiveness should also be assessed through the management and utilisation of intervention funds involving state governments and SUBEBs. Consequently, evaluating UBEC solely on the basis of the ₦441.92 billion federal allocation would not provide the complete picture.
Nevertheless, the 2026 figures provide an important starting point for examining the commission’s priorities. When 97.3 per cent of an agency’s reported allocation is classified as personnel expenditure, there is a legitimate need for transparency about how much funding is reaching schools and what measurable outcomes are being achieved.
Ultimately, the success of UBEC should not be judged by the size of its bureaucracy or the amount appropriated to it, but by what Nigerian children experience in their classrooms. The central test remains whether public investment is translating into accessible, adequately equipped and functional basic schools.
