In a bid to achieve the Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) policy, the Rivers State Universal Basic Education Board (RSUBEB) has begun the monitoring and supervision of the implementation of the programme across the 1,400 learning centres across the 23 local government areas of the state.
The BESDA programme is an initiative of the World Bank in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education, Rivers State Ministry of Education, the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and Rivers State Universal Basic Education Board (RSUBEB) to eradicate the challenges of out-of-school children in the selected 17 states of the country with a view to providing basic education to the affected children.
Addressing journalists in his office at the RSUBEB headquarters in Port harcourt, yesterday, after an inspection visit to over 50 BESDA centres domiciled within Obio/Akpor and Port Harcourt City local government areas of the state, the Executive Chairman of Rivers State Universal Basic Education Board (RSUBEB),Ven Fyneface Akah, said the essence of the monitoring was to assess the effectiveness of the programme as well as the impact of the advocacy and sensitisation with regard to public acceptance of the programme.
According to him, the programme was targeted at 110,654 out-of-school children of ages 6 to 11 years in the state who have no opportunity to access formal education, adding that 300,000 facilitators and 300,000 food vendors have been engaged across the centres in the 23 local government areas of the state.
“The purpose is operation follow your money and we have set out today to assess the level of our advocacy across the BESDA centres. Today, we have visited over 50 centres in these two local government areas.
“This inspection will run throughout the month, and we will all be in the field.
“We pay all the facilitators and food vendors engaged in this programme and every child is entitled to N150 valued meal per day.
“The focus has been more on the rural communities, and the focus has been to pursue-learning in those rural communities”, he stated.
The state SUBEB boss opined that the BESDA scheme would afford the children the opportunity to learn basic literacy and numerical skills within the nine months’ duration of the programme, and added that at the end of the programme, the children would be enrolled into any UBE school within their communities, and where there is none, a permanent structure would be established.

The Rivers State Government has stated it’s readiness to partner with International experts to set out international standard for emergency and disaster managements in the state.
The state government also disclosed it’s readiness to train more persons in the handling of disaster cases in the State.
The State Commissioner for Special Duties, Dr Thomas Bariere disclosed this Wednesday at the Stakeholders meeting of Disaster Management Experts of Universities and the International Society for Red Cross in Port Harcourt.
According to him, some challenges facing the prompt handling of emergency and disasters would soon be a thing of past in the state.
“ Rivers State Government through ministry of Special Duties has already concluded plans to enter partnership with Disaster Management Experts in some Universities to set an international standard in the handling of emergency and disaster managements in the state.
“As of International society for Red Cross, the State will collaborates with them in the area of setting out guidelines and standard for emergency and disaster management in the State.
“We will also partner with experts in universities in the area of human capital development.” Bariere said.
The commissioner assured the International Experts that the State government would put to use all the recommendations made to improve the management of disasters and emergency in the state.
“Whatever the resolution and recommendations reached in this meeting, the government of Rivers State will do every thing to ensure its effective”. Bariere said.

Enoch Epelle

With less than four months to the National Convention of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), the Eastern Zone of the organisation has called on the Oweilaemi Executives to set-up a transitional council that will give birth to an electoral committee to conduct election for April 2020.
The position of the Eastern Zone was contained in a resolution at the end of an emergency meeting of Elders of the zone in Port Harcourt.
The resolution said the constitutional convention being proposed in some quarters was not only belated, but would only serve to extend the tenure of the current National Executive of the council.
The Elders also disowned those calling for a unity convention, stressing that those making such calls are enemies of the entire Ijaw nation.
The resolution jointly signed by Elder Fiyasiri Eweleye, Chairman, Gold Monday, Secretary and others said that the elders stood for a transitional convention and also recognise the prerogative of the Oweilaemi led National Executive Council to choose a venue for the convention.
Meanwhile, an aspirant for the presidency of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Comrade Peter Igbifa, has pledged to create employment opportunities for the teeming unemployed youths in Ijaw land.
Igbifa, who said this while addressing the elders council eastern zone in a meeting in Port Harcourt also pledged to setup an advisory committee in the zone, if elected.
He said that employment opportunities would be sourced from companies with the view to ensuring that unemployed youths were engaged.
Igbifa also pledged to fight insecurity in the zone adding that he will not disappoint the Ijaw nation if elected. Among those at the meeting were Elder Athanasuis Eneyo, Elder Otonye Eremie, Elder Tamuno A. Iyalla, Elder Fred Kondu, Elder Tunde Anaye-Kio, Elder Efreda Olungwe, Pastor Ngerebob, Alhaji Omar Farouk.

John Bibor, Amina Ngoma & Josephine Nsirim