UBEC, SUBEBs SMOs Converge in Nasarawa for 2025 Annual Review and Capacity Building Workshop
By JB Danlami
The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening grassroots participation and enhancing the delivery of basic education across the country as Directors State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBs) and Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Social Mobilization Officers convened in Nasarawa State for the 2025 Annual Review Meeting and Capacity Building Workshop.
The three-day engagement, which opened on Monday at Freshland Hotel, Karu, brought together Directors of Social Mobilization (DSMs) from the 36 State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBs) and the FCT UBEB, alongside Social Mobilization Officers (SMOs) from UBEC headquarters.
Declaring the workshop open, the Deputy Executive Secretary (Technical), Mr. Rasaq Olajuwon Akinyemi, who represented by the Ag Director Social Mobilization UBEC Malam Adamu Gurama highlighted the urgent need to strengthen stakeholder engagement and community participation in order to achieve Universal Basic Education (UBE) goals and reduce Nigeria’s out-of-school children population.
He noted that several strategic reforms have been introduced by the Commission, including the recently launched 5% School-Based Management Committee (SBMC) Matching Grant, a policy he described as a major driver of school-level transformation and improved governance.
“This initiative aligns with the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI). We expect SMOs and DSMs to ensure transparent, efficient and impactful utilization of the SBMC matching grant to strengthen school improvement,” he said.
Earlier, in her welcome remarks, the Ag. Director of Social Mobilization, UBEC, Malam Adamu Gurama through Assistant Director Shuaibu Muhammad has reaffirmed that the annual workshop remains a critical platform for evaluating state performance, reviewing challenges, strengthening community linkages, and deepening the operational capacity of Social Mobilization officers nationwide.
He emphasized that this year’s programme prioritizes peer-learning, innovations in community engagement, documentation of out-of-school children enrolment, and enhanced advocacy strategies across states and local governments
Delivering his goodwill message on behalf of the Directors of Social Mobilization Forum the Director Social Mobilization SUBEB Kano Balarabe Danlami, Jazuli commended UBEC for sustaining the annual workshop and for introducing reforms that empower states to drive deeper community ownership of basic education.
He described the meeting as timely, coming at a period when the responsibilities of Social Mobilization officers continue to expand in areas such as advocacy, behavioural change communication, partnership building, and school grants management.
“The DSMs Forum remains fully committed to supporting UBEC’s reforms, especially the SBMC 5% matching grant and all programmes aimed at reducing the number of out-of-school children,” Danlami said.
“We assure the Commission that we will continue to strengthen advocacy at the grassroots, improve documentation and accountability, and build stronger community partnerships across all states.”
He urged participants to maximize the technical sessions and peer-learning opportunities, adding that the knowledge gained from the workshop would shape state-level engagement strategies throughout 2026.
The workshop features technical presentations on behavioural change communication, SBMC functionality, enrolment drive campaigns, and the new Hope-Education Programme. Participants expressed optimism that the sessions would enhance operational efficiency at the state and LGEA levels.
The meeting continues through December 3rd with presentations from all 36 states and the FCT on their activities, achievements, challenges, partnerships and strategies for community engagement and reduction of out-of-school children.
