UBEC renovates 287 schools, 4,000 classrooms

By Joseph Erunke, Abuja

ABUJA — The Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC, has renovated 287 schools and more than 4,000 classrooms nationwide as part of efforts to improve basic education infrastructure across the country.

The commission also disclosed that it had established more than 2,000 digital learning centres nationwide, with interventions now extending beyond classroom rehabilitation to water, sanitation, electricity, security and learning facilities.

Executive Secretary of UBEC, Dr Aisha Garba, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja while commissioning renovated classroom blocks and other facilities at Nyanya-Hausawa Basic and Secondary School.

Garba said the interventions were aimed at ensuring that children, regardless of their location, had access to safe and conducive learning environments in line with the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

She said UBEC had introduced minimum standards for school infrastructure, requiring government interventions to adopt a “whole-school approach” rather than focusing only on isolated classroom repairs.

According to her, the approach covers classrooms, toilets, water supply, electricity, administrative facilities, security and learning resources.

“Under the Renewed Hope Agenda, President Bola Tinubu has mandated us that all children, regardless of where they are, should be in school and we should make sure that schools are in conducive environment for learning.

“This has been one of our key mandates, and since the coming of this administration, we have taken that directive seriously,” she said.

Garba said the commission was also enforcing minimum requirements for newly constructed schools, including perimeter fencing, security infrastructure, solar power, boreholes, adequate classrooms and toilets, administrative blocks and playgrounds.

She added that the standards would increasingly include modern facilities such as computer and ICT laboratories and smart boards to prepare pupils and students for the demands of the 21st-century economy.

Nyanya-Hausawa gets facelift

Garba said Nyanya-Hausawa Basic and Secondary School was among institutions that had undergone significant rehabilitation after falling into disrepair.

She said the school, which caters to early childhood, primary, junior secondary and senior secondary pupils and students, received rehabilitation covering three blocks containing about 30 classrooms and 48 toilets.

The intervention also included solar-powered boreholes, with the water system connected to the newly provided toilet facilities.

However, Garba acknowledged that the school still had outstanding infrastructure needs, particularly the absence of an administrative block, promising further intervention.

The school management had described its condition before the rehabilitation as severe, with some pupils and students reportedly forced to sit on bare floors because of inadequate furniture.

Principal of the Junior Secondary School, Gideon Isah, said the renovation had significantly improved the learning environment, while the provision of furniture and a solar-powered water system had improved conditions for staff and students.

He appealed to UBEC to provide an administrative block, saying the primary, junior secondary and senior secondary sections currently operate without one.

Isah said the school community, in collaboration with the Parent-Teacher Association, had employed three security personnel to protect the renovated facilities from vandalism.

He assured UBEC that the school would maintain the facilities and ensure their proper use.

UBEC commissions 74 digital centres

Beyond physical infrastructure, UBEC is expanding its technology-driven education programme, with Garba commissioning 74 digital learning centres as part of the latest intervention.

At Model Girls’ Junior Secondary School in the Abuja Municipal Area Council, AMAC, where one of the centres was commissioned, Garba said the commission had established more than 2,000 digital learning centres under the Tinubu administration.

The centres are equipped with computers, smart boards, solar power systems, burglar-proofing, printers, scanners and internet connectivity.

They also provide pupils, students and teachers with online and offline educational content, while teachers receive training on the use of the facilities and digital resources.

Director of Physical Planning at UBEC, Ibrahim Nura, said the Nyanya-Hausawa project followed a detailed assessment of the school’s physical condition before rehabilitation commenced.

Nura said the assessment enabled the commission to identify facilities requiring urgent attention and determine the scope of intervention.

He said the project had transformed the previously dilapidated school and created a more suitable environment for teaching and learning.

Garba said the broader infrastructure and digital interventions were part of UBEC’s effort to ensure that access to basic education was matched by facilities capable of supporting quality learning.

She said the whole-school model was designed to prevent situations where renovated classrooms were left without essential supporting infrastructure such as water, sanitation, electricity, security and learning technology.