The Commissioner for Education in Bayelsa State, Mr. Jonathan Obuebite, yesterday said the state government has introduced free feeding programme in all public boarding schools in the state as part of the current administration’s drive in promoting qualitative education.
Obuebite, who gave credit to the current administration for the educational revolution in the state, said that 20 years after the creation of the state, the state has no boarding schools until Governor Seriake Dickson began building new model boarding schools in all the local government areas of the state.
Presenting his ministry’s score-card at the ongoing inter-ministerial and agency briefing to mark Governor Dickson’s six years in office, the commissioner said the state government had spent over N1 billion as counterpart funding to the Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC, to attract Federal Government support programmes in educational sector.
According to him, the state government has built and renovated over 600 primary schools, 400 headmasters’ quarters in all the primary school in the eight local governments of the state, while over 160 secondary schools have been renovated to key into Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, in educational sector.
He said the current government in the state has established a new state polytechnic at Ekeremor LGA, University of Africa, Tor-Orua and has also provided funds for accreditation of all courses and programmes at the state owned Niger Delta University, NDU.
“From inception, 600 primary school blocks and offices have been constructed across the state, the government has continuously paid for the WAEC, NECO, NABTEP and GCE examinations for its citizens since 2012 till date,” he said.
