Northern Pulse: UBEC distributes 100,000 IQTE materials to strengthen non-formal education in Nigeria

By Sani Idris Abdulrahman

The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), has inaugurated the national distribution of 100,000 school records and instructional materials for the Integrated Quranic and Tsangaya Education (IQTE) programme.

The Executive Secretary of UBEC, Dr Aisha Garba, said at the event on Tuesday in Kaduna that it was a major step towards addressing Nigeria’s out-of-school children challenge.

Garba, represented by the North-West Zonal Director of UBEC, Hajiya Siddiqat Shomope , said the distribution targeted non-formal learning centres, particularly IQTE centres, equipping them with tools to improve data management, teaching quality, learner retention and reintegration tracking.

Garba said the materials included enrollment and attendance registers, lesson plans, facilitator guides, assessment records, visitors’ books and other instructional resources for centres in high out-of-school-children zones.

“The materials are being distributed across the North-West, North-East, North-Central and South-West geopolitical zones to strengthen literacy and numeracy instruction and reduce the number of out-of-school children,” she said.

Garba traced the programme’s evolution from the 2010 Almajiri Education Programme, which established 157 model schools, through the 2018 pilot upgrading of 131 centres in nine states.

She said that subsequent phases supported 517 centres in 2019, 312 centres in 2022 and 2023, and 322 centres across 24 states and the Federal Capital Territory in 2024.

She added that monitoring of the 2024 intervention in April 2025 recorded 309 new classrooms constructed, 110 renovated, 145 recitation halls built and 390 toilets provided in participating centres.

The intervention also supplied 6,209 pupil furniture items and 2,766 wardrobes and mats, directly benefiting 69,759 learners under the IQTE programme.

In spite of these gains, Garba said many centres remained reliant on federal support due to inconsistent state counterpart commitments, urging State Universal Basic Education Boards to prioritise IQTE learners equally.

She reaffirmed that UBEC would continue focusing on teacher training, literacy and numeracy instruction, essential learning materials, enrolment drives, community empowerment and strategic partnerships to close the education gap.

The Director of Social Mobilisation at UBEC, Malam Adamu Gurama, described the initiative as a bridge between religious and secular learning that preserves Quranic values while providing literacy, numeracy and life skills.

Gurama said the distribution strengthened monitoring through proper school records and enhances teaching and learning quality in IQTE centres nationwide.

In a remark, Chairman of the Kaduna State Universal Basic Education Board, Mr Mubarak Muhammad, commended UBEC’s leadership and described the programme as culturally responsive and critical to inclusive education.

He said the intervention aligned with the reform priorities of Gov. Uba Sani, particularly efforts to improve learning outcomes through equitable access initiatives.

Muhammad assured that Kaduna state would ensure effective distribution, proper utilisation and continuous monitoring of the materials to achieve measurable improvements in learning outcomes.

He emphasised that sustainable progress in basic education required coordinated execution, strong accountability and deeper collaboration between federal and state institutions.(NAN)