Education Counterpart Funding Scheme in Nigeria: The Journey So Far

Abstract

The Nigerian educational system has witnessed a number of laudable programmes targeted at making needed funds available for its operation. However, the agitation against paucity of and the clamour for more funds remain a major challenge among stakeholders in the educational sector. Often times, little or nothing is usually known about the efficiency of these instituted funding schemes before they are scrapped, restructured or others of similar outlook or mandate are established. Currently, the Universal Basic Education (UBE) Counterpart Funding Scheme is on course, but how well it has been able to cater for basic education that it is meant for is a major issue that requires attention. Between 2005 and 2014, the rate at which states accessed the funds was really disappointing. States like Ebonyi, Benue, Cross River, etc, led the list of defaulting states with up to #3 billion un-assessed. Basically, states in the northern part of Nigeria accessed the funds more than their southern counterparts. Lack of political will is however, largely responsible for the default by states in accessing the funds. Conclusively, states need to be proactive in this regard as it is a means of getting necessary funds to meet the needs of basic education.