UBEC Boss Hails Tinubu’s Education Reforms, Says Over 700,000 Out-of-School Children Returned To Class

The Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Dr. Aisha Garba, has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for prioritising education reforms under the Renewed Hope Agenda, disclosing that approximately 700,000 out-of-school children have been supported to return to classrooms through interventions involving UBEC and other stakeholders.

Garba spoke on Monday, October 12, 2026, at the national flag off of the distribution of two million packs of sanitary towels and back-to-school learning materials to girls in public basic education schools across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The initiative, tagged “Flow with Confidence 2.0: Keeping Every Girl in School,” was launched by the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, at the State House Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa, Abuja, as part of activities marking the 2026 International Day of the Girl Child.

The UBEC boss said the intervention reflected the Federal Government’s commitment to translating education policies into practical measures that expand access to learning, improve school attendance and retention, and address barriers preventing vulnerable children from completing their education.

“This programme reflects our shared commitment to ensuring that the barriers to girl child education are adequately addressed in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, which prioritises the education and well being of every Nigerian child as an essential pillar of national development,” she said.

Highlighting the Commission’s achievements under the administration, Garba disclosed that UBEC had facilitated the construction of more than 4,000 classrooms nationwide in less than three years, alongside the provision of water and sanitation facilities, learning materials, teacher capacity development and digital technology in public schools.

She added that more than three million pupils benefited from back-to-school materials in the preceding year, while the Commission continued to work with relevant agencies and stakeholders to bring out-of-school children back into the education system.

According to her, the achievements underscored the importance of sustained government investment in basic education and the need to ensure that reforms translate into tangible improvements in the learning environment.

Garba said the distribution of two million packs of sanitary towels, alongside school bags, shoes, exercise books, mathematics textbooks and writing materials, was designed to address challenges that disproportionately affect girls from disadvantaged backgrounds.

“Our message is clear: no girl child should have to choose between her dignity and her education,” she said, stressing that the inability to afford menstrual hygiene products should never force a girl to miss school.

She described the Flow with Confidence 2.0 programme as a strategic investment in girls’ education, confidence and future prospects, noting that menstrual health challenges remained among the barriers requiring deliberate attention to improve school attendance and retention.

The UBEC Executive Secretary also commended the First Lady for expanding the original Flow with Confidence programme, launched on October 2, 2025, which provided a one year supply of disposable sanitary pads to 370,000 schoolgirls in rural communities nationwide.

Garba further disclosed that UBEC’s Learners Retention Support Programme was expected to provide financial assistance to 100,000 learners in its first phase, with each beneficiary receiving a proposed grant of ₦20,000 under a total allocation of ₦2 billion.

The programme is intended to ease financial difficulties that may prevent children from attending school regularly or completing their education.

She called on state governments, State Universal Basic Education Boards, traditional rulers, religious leaders, parents, teachers and development partners to ensure transparent and accountable implementation of the interventions.

In her remarks, Senator Oluremi Tinubu commended UBEC for expanding support for schoolgirls and reiterated the need to address the challenges confronting girls, particularly those in rural and underserved communities.

The First Lady also urged community leaders to help eliminate the stigma surrounding menstruation and announced the planned scholarship support under UBEC’s Learners Retention Support Programme.

The Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, and the Minister of State for Education, Professor Suwaiba Sa’id Ahmad, also reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to improving access to education and removing barriers to girls’ participation in school.

Garba assured Nigerians that UBEC would sustain its collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education, state governments and development partners to strengthen school infrastructure, provide essential learning resources and improve enrolment, attendance and retention.

She urged stakeholders to support efforts to ensure that no child, particularly a girl, is denied an education because of poverty, menstrual hygiene challenges or other preventable barriers.