The Bayelsa State Government has reaffirmed its commitment to the
education sub sector of the State by initiating policies and programmes to
sustain and improve on the massive gains already made in the sector.
This is coming on the heels of the State’s high ranking performance in the
annual West African School Certificate Examinations, where it has
consistently remained among the six best states in the country, since
2013.
Speaking to correspondents in Yenagoa, the State Commissioner for
Information and Orientation, Hon. Jonathan Obuebite pointed out that,
Bayelsa place 6th in the latest WASC results released by the West African
Examinations Council, stressing that, the development has placed the State
as one of the most consistent in all external examinations in the last 4
years.
Ascribing the successful run to the educational policies and programmes of
the Restoration administration in the State, the information and
Orientation Commissioner recalled the inaugural speech of Governor Henry
Seriake Dickson in 2012, where he declared a state of emergency in the
sector and the subsequent follow up programmes, as a major turning point
for the state.
He noted that, the Governor and indeed the administration has remained
resolute in the implementation of all its policies in the education
sector, taking into account the massive decay of infrastructure and the
disadvantaged position of the state.
Describing the educational policies and programmes of the Government from
inception as legendary and remarkable in the history of the State, Hon.
Obuebite explained that, over 500 hundred infrastructure were either
developed or renovated across the State, coupled with a massive increase
in public primary and secondary school intake, because of the free and
compulsory education policy initiated in 2012.
According to him, as a serious minded government that, means well for the
people of the State, it has followed up its initial policies by also
introducing new all boarding secondary schools, including the iconic Ijaw
National Academy, Kaiama and the others, spread across the 8 local
government council areas in the State.
The commissioner noted with delight that, the new boarding schools have
raised the bar for education in the state and are seen as special centres
of excellence, in view of the state-of-the-art facilities and massive
infrastructure, as well as the quality of academic staff on hand.
He stated that, the focus of the government is to move Bayelsa State and
the Ijaw Nation to the very top of Nigeria’s educational chart, as well as
position future generations of our people to be as competent and
competitive with their contemporaries in other parts of the world.
“We can no longer play second fiddle to anybody or group of people in any
part of the globe and the right way to pursue this agenda is to create the
enabling environment for the present generation Bayelsans and the Ijaws,
especially the children to acquire the right knowledge. And, the only way
that can be achieved is to build good schools like we are doing now for
our children”
Hon. Obuebite used the occasion to disclose that, the long vacation extra
mural classes that was put together for all the students of the various
boarding schools of the government holding at the Ijaw National Academy,
Kaiama will come to an end at the school premises, with a colourful
ceremony on Friday, 1stof September, 2017.