The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has endorsed Delta State's Attend360 platform, a digital system that monitors teacher attendance, as a replicable model for improving accountability in basic education across Nigeria. UBEC Executive Secretary Aisha Garba made the remark during a visit to Asaba, where she met with state officials and members of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB). The visit formed part of UBEC's 30th Quarterly Meeting, themed "Repositioning Basic Education in Nigeria to Optimise Investment and Impact," which brought together SUBEB chairmen from across the country. Garba highlighted that consistent teacher presence is critical to learning outcomes, stating, "There is no education or quality learning without a good teacher or without a teacher in the classroom."
Garba commended Delta State for its effective use of technology in education management and for accessing UBEC matching grants up to 2025, positioning it as a leading state in basic education reform. She urged Delta to fully utilise available funds and implement at least 50 per cent of its 2025 Action Plan to qualify for the World Bank's $500 million HOPE Education Programme. The state's Deputy Governor, Monday Onyeme, responded that Delta had implemented about 90 per cent of its 2025 Action Plan, received its 2026 matching grant, and had only one billion naira in unutilised funds, contrary to earlier reports of eight billion naira. He reaffirmed the state's commitment to expanding access to quality education.
Later, Garba paid a courtesy visit to the Asagba of Asaba, Professor Epiphany Azinge, where she stressed the role of traditional institutions in supporting education delivery. She reiterated UBEC's goal of ensuring every Nigerian child, regardless of background, has access to quality basic education.
|||NAJABUZZ_TAKE||| A state government reporting one billion naira in unutilised education funds while citing progress raises questions about how performance is being measured. If implementation is near-complete, as claimed, where exactly are the remaining funds being directed?
The endorsement of Delta's Attend360 system by UBEC highlights a potential model for improving teacher accountability nationwide, but its success depends on consistent implementation and fund utilisation across states. This matters because without verified teacher presence and effective use of resources, even well-designed education reforms may fail to improve learning outcomes for Nigerian children.
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