Challenges of Implementing Universal Basic Education Policy in Rural Schools in Yobe State

This study examines the challenges of implementing the Universal Basic Education policy in rural public schools in Yobe State, North East Nigeria. The UBE Act of 2004 mandates free, compulsory, and qualitative basic education for all Nigerian children, but implementation in conflict-affected states like Yobe has been severely constrained by insecurity, displacement, funding shortfalls, and institutional capacity limitations. Despite federal and international partner support, significant implementation gaps persist in rural Yobe communities. A mixed-method design was employed, combining a survey of 80 head teachers, 200 classroom teachers, and 50 Local Government Education Authority officers with focus group discussions in rural communities across Damaturu, Potiskum, and Geidam local government areas. Implementation challenges assessed include teacher shortage, infrastructure deficit, curriculum non-compliance, enrolment barriers, and monitoring limitations. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis were applied. Results identify teacher absenteeism, destroyed or damaged infrastructure, chronic textbook shortages, and insecurity-induced parental reluctance as the most severe implementation barriers in rural Yobe. The UBEC matching grant mechanism was found to be underutilised due to state counterpart funding limitations. The study concludes that UBE policy implementation in rural Yobe State faces fundamental structural barriers that require targeted emergency education programming beyond standard implementation channels. It recommends a dedicated North East Education Recovery Framework, combining accelerated infrastructure rebuilding with community-based teacher deployment and an emergency textbook provision scheme.

Keywords: Universal Basic Education, policy implementation, rural schools, Yobe State, North East Nigeria.