NAPTAN And NANS Label States’ Failure As Criminal Offense

Several key players in the education sector have deemed the failure of certain state governments to access approximately N68 billion in grants from the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) as a serious offense…CONTINUE READING

These stakeholders argue that the basic education sector is grappling with various challenges, and the aforementioned amount could significantly contribute to alleviating some of these issues.

As of December 11, 2023, a total of N68.7 billion remains unutilized by 11 state governments. This situation is particularly concerning given that the nation currently has over 20.2 million children who are out of school.

Among these concerned stakeholders are parents represented by the National Parent Teacher Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN) and the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS). In separate discussions with the media,

National President of NAPTAN, Alhaji Haruna Danjuma, expressed dismay at the apparent indifference of our leaders to critical matters. He stated, “It is criminal for state governments to just let such a huge sum of money lie fallow when we know the difficulties our basic education sector is facing.”

Danjuma suggested that UBEC should utilize the funds for projects on behalf of the affected states, but clarified that legal constraints prevent such actions. He explained that the state government, through the State Universal Basic Education Board, is responsible for determining and initiating projects, with UBEC providing the remaining funds after approval.

Danjuma proposed a solution, suggesting that President Bola Tinubu convene a meeting with state governors to emphasize the importance of providing counterpart funding for these projects.