INTRODUCTION
The UBEC Zonal Offices serve as a linkage between the Headquarters and the UBEC State Offices, SUBEBs and other stakeholders. The Commission has 6 Zonal Offices which carry out the functions of the various Departments and Units in the 6 geopolitical zones while also managing the various State offices under them. UBEC has an office in the 36 States and the FCT which liaise with SUBEBs and all other basic education stakeholders. The table below shows the locations of the Zonal/State Offices.
Locations and Coverage Areas of the UBEC Zonal Offices
| S/N | ZONAL OFFICE | LOCATION OF OFFICE | STATES COVERED | TOTAL NUMBER OF STATES |
| i. | North-Central | Keffi Nasarawa State, | Benue, FCT, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, and Plateau. | 7 |
| ii. | North-East | Bauchi, Bauchi State | Adamawa, Borno, Bauchi, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe. | 6 |
| iii. | North-West | Kaduna Kaduna State, | Jigawa, Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara. | 7 |
| iv. | South-East | Owerri, Imo State | Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo. | 5 |
| v. | South-South | Uyo, Akwa Ibom State | Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo and Rivers. | 6 |
| vi. | South-West | Abeokuta, Ogun State | Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun and Oyo. | 6 |
| TOTAL | 37 |
STRUCTURE
Each Zonal Office is headed by a Director while the State Offices are headed by Officers of the cadre of Assistant Director and not less than Principal Quality Assurance Officer.
FUNCTIONS
The main tasks of the Zonal Offices are to among others:
- ensure that qualitative Basic Education is being delivered across all the states and the FCT;
- coordinate the activities of Basic Education in their various zones to ensure that Sate Offices carry out their jobs effectively;
- serve as grassroots contacts to the SUBEBs and as the Secretariat of the Quarterly Meeting of UBEC Management with the Executive Chairmen of SUBEBs;
- liaise with SUBEBs for the collections of Data/Information; and
- carry out any assignment that may be assigned to them from the Headquarters.
ACTIVITIES/ACHIEVEMENTS
The Zonal Offices were able to perform the under-listed activities in the year under review:
- Participated in the conduct of Quality Assurance in schools on termly basis.
- Participated in the departmental monitoring activities.
- Documentation of new staff posted to the zones.
ON-GOING ACTIVITIES
The following activities are currently being carried out by the Zonal Offices:
- Monitoring of school resumption in states.
- Verifying the delivery of instructional materials supplied by UBEC to SUBEBs.
- Monitoring of UBEC intervention and constituency projects.
- Liaising with SUBEBs on the development of 3 years Medium Term Basic Education Strategic Plan.
- Liaising with SUBEBs on data returns to the Headquarters.
FUTURE PLAN
Carrying out assignments given by the headquarters to the Zonal/State Offices to ensure effective delivery of basic education in the states.
CHALLENGES
The following are the challenges in Zonal and State Offices:
- Inadequate functional vehicles in the zones to conduct monitoring activities.
- Inadequate funds to perform the functions of the offices effectively.
- Lack of internet facilities to communicate with the headquarters effectively.
- Some Zonal and State Offices are still operating in rented apartments.
CONCLUSION
The Zonal Offices were able to carry out their duties despite the challenges mentioned above. It is hoped that some of the challenges identified will be overcome in the years ahead.
