The National Executive Secretary, Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Dr. Ahmed Modibbo Mohammed, has raised alarm over the poor rate of draw-down of the intervention fund by some states, noting that it was capable of adversely affecting the chances of the Nigerian children's attainment of education for all by the year 2015.

The executive secretary, who was in Gusau to flag off the third and fourth quarters project and training of primary school teachers and head teachers in the state, urged states which are yet to draw-down there intervention fund to come forward and access their funds for the benefit of the children.

"The rate of draw-down of the intervention fund by some states, with the exception of a few like Zamfara, is still far from being satisfactory. I, therefore, seize this opportunity to urge these states to come forward and access these funds for the benefit of the Nigerian child," he said.

Mohammed, who was represented by the Director, Mobilisation, UBEC, Abuja, Alhaji Ibrahim Suleiman, disclosed that the commission was ready to facilitate the request for the draw-down of the intervention fund more efficiently and much faster now, "but still retaining its inherent effectiveness and transparency."

He alerted that "any further delay in this direction (draw-down intervention fund) will further jeopardize our chances of attaining the education for all (EFA) goals by the year 2015.
He stated that constant training and re-training will improve capacity of teachers.
"I must re-emphasized the need for constant training and re-training of teachers in order to improve their quality and global competiveness," he advised.

The UBEC boss, therefore, commended Zamfara State government in its effort to the improvement of basic education, the post basic and tertiary sub-sectors, "we call on the state government to continue and like Oliver Twist to even invest more," he declared.

Earlier in his address, the Deputy Governor, Alhaji Muktari Ahmed Anka, who represented the state governor, disclosed that since the inception of their administration barely a year ago, the state government has bailed out, education from the morass it found itself. "This is why we dedicated 26 per cent of this year’s budget to education sector.

"I believed this would make significant contribution towards improving the skills of our teachers thereby uplifting the standard of primary education in the state," he said.

In his welcome address, the Zamfara State UBEC Chairman, Alhaji Muhammed Aliyu Anka, commended the state government for its prompt released of counterpart funding. He said arrangement was in the pipeline by the state government for the release of an equal amount for the 3rd and 4th quarters of the 2007 Action Plan.