Education Ministry Condemns Alleged Smear Campaign Against UBEC Boss

By our Correspondent

The Federal Ministry of Education has denounced what it termed a “sponsored smear campaign” aimed at discrediting the Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Aisha Garba.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, said the Ministry’s attention had been drawn to “libellous” media publications allegedly circulated by a group known as the Education Rights Activists Coalition (ERAC).

The group accused Garba of administrative misconduct and flouting the rule of law—allegations the Ministry described as “baseless, misleading, and malicious.”

Dr Alausa said the allegations appeared to be the work of “disgruntled individuals” seeking to derail the ongoing reforms in basic education under Garba’s stewardship.

“Aisha Garba is an internationally recognised education expert with over 24 years of experience, including 15 years with the World Bank. She has brought integrity, competence, and global best practices to UBEC,” he said.

The Ministry credited Garba’s leadership with major progress in access, equity, and quality of basic education. Under her tenure, UBEC has constructed nearly 5,000 classrooms, renovated over 3,000, and set up Early Childhood Care and Development centres nationwide.

Additionally, over five million textbooks and more than 350,000 units of school furniture have been distributed across the country.

In the area of teacher training, over 147,000 educators have been trained in modern techniques, while nearly 978,800 teachers have benefitted from Nigeria’s largest Teacher Professional Development programme.

A comprehensive curriculum overhaul is also in progress in collaboration with the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) to integrate digital literacy and entrepreneurship.

The Ministry further highlighted improvements in the implementation of the Basic Education Action Plan (BEAP) and the Matching Grant Formula, revealing that ₦78.6 billion was accessed by 28 states and the FCT in 2024.

It also pointed to enhanced collaboration with key development partners such as the World Bank, UNICEF, KOICA, the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), and the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

Through the School-Based Management Committee–School Improvement Programme, over 15,000 community projects have been successfully executed.

The Ministry emphasized that no financial misconduct or administrative violations have occurred under Garba’s leadership, and called on the public to disregard the “orchestrated falsehoods.”

“We stand firmly with Aisha Garba as she continues her transformational work to deliver quality, safe, and inclusive basic education to Nigerian children,” Dr Alausa stated.