International Journal of Educational Administration, Planning, & Research University of Calabar Press eISSN: 2787-026X; www.ujs.unical.edu.ng/index.php/ijeapr Vol. 11, No. 2., December 2019. 40 IJEAPR Planning and Implementation of Universal Basic Education Programme in Cross River State: Implications for Effective Implementation Ekpenyonganwan Godwin Anam Department of Educational Management, Faculty of Education University of Calabar, Calabar Email: ekpenyonganwananam@gmail.com Doi: 10.5281/zenodo.5234905 Abstract The main purpose of this study was to investigate the planning and implementation of the Universal Basic Education programme in Cross River State. The study discussed the implications for effective implementation. Two research questions guided the study. A descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study consisted of all heads of public junior secondary schools; school administrators who are directly in charge of the programme implementation, school teachers and professional bodies' example the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) in the state. A combination of stratified, proportional and judgemental sampling techniques was used in selecting a sample of 887 respondents. The instrument used for data collection was a questionnaire titled "Stakeholders Opinion Questionnaire on Implementation of UBE Programme (SOQIUP)". This was validated by three experts, two from Educational Management and one from Education Measurement and Evaluation in the faculty of education. A reliability estimate of 0.86 was obtained through the use of the Cronbach A lpha method. The collected data were analysed using mean, standard deviation and frequency counts. Findings indicated that the plan for the implementation of the Universal Basic Education Programme was done in a hurry, possibly without adequate consideration of necessities for its implementation in the state. The findings also revealed poor funding of education, lack of reliable statistics for planning and basic education not being free. It was, therefore, concluded that the low level of performance is associated with poor systematic needs assessment, hasty planning and implementation; hence, it was recommended that proper needs assessment be done regularly and continuously, as well as, strict adherence to the policy directives at the implementation stage. Keywords: Effective, implementation, implication, planning, programme. Cite as: Anam, E. G. (2019). Planning and implementation of Universal Basic Education programme in Cross River State: Implications for effective implementation. International Journal of Educational Administration, Planning & Research, 11(2), 40-49. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5234905 Introduction The major purpose of a social programme is to ameliorate some social problems or improve some socials conditions. If the programme policy is sound and the programme plan is well implemented the expected social benefits should follow. However, those benefits are rarely certain. Practical and conceptual shortcomings combined with the intractable nature of other problems commonly undermine the effective implementation of such programmes, including education-related programmes (Rossi, Freeman & Lipsey, 1999). Managing the educational