Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, has charged operators of the BayelsaPrime Project to intensify their focus on the monitoring and supervision of teachers to promote quality education in the state.
He also urged them to fashion out measures to ensure sustainability of the programme and adopt Output to Purpose Review (OPR) assessment of their performance.
The state’s number two, man who gave the charge when he received officials of the BayelsaPrime Project in Government House, Yenagoa, on Tuesday, commended the team for their efforts towards the development of the educational sector in Bayelsa State.
A statement issued by the Media Aide to the Deputy Governor, Mr. Doubara Atasi, quoted him as saying education is a priority for the prosperity administration, stressing that it is the desire of the State Government to see the programme succeed.
He said while the State Government wants the BayelsaPrime Project to outlive the incumbent administration, it is important for operators of the project to ensure that its impact is felt at all times in the educational sector of the state.
The Bayelsa number two citizen stressed the need for teachers in government-owned schools to be strictly monitored through a finger print method as they are crucial to the success of Bayelsa Prime and policy objectives of the present administration for the sector.
Underscoring the significant role of manpower in any organisation, the Deputy Governor noted that regardless of the level of technology involved in human activities, the importance of the human factor cannot be downplayed.
He urged the BayelsaPrime operators not to rest on the successes so far achieved but to pay attention to areas they need to improve upon, particularly in the supervision of teachers.
“We want to commend you for what you are doing. Education makes it easier for people to contribute to society and difficult for them to be manipulated.
“We do not wish the programme to end soon. However, we want sustainability. We want a situation whereby even if Bayelsa Prime ends today, it leaves lasting legacies in the educational sector.
“Sustainability is the hallmark of every programme. While we commend you for what you are doing we want you to make sure that it is sustainable and spreads across the entire State.
“I really want you to look at how we can monitor the teachers, that is a key area. Yes the students are doing good, are the teachers doing good as well? A person who is being supervised works differently from those not being supervised”, he said.
Earlier, Managing Director of BayelsaPrime, Mr. Linus Adaikwu, said the visit was to update the Deputy Governor on the progress the programme has recorded in some of the pilot public primary schools in four local government areas of the state.
He said BayelsaPrime has enhanced the reading capacity and literacy level of pupils as well as facilitated the enrollment of about forty thousand pulpils through its “Come Back To School Campaigns”.
Adaikwu added that efforts were underway to introduce the programme in the remaining local government areas of Southern Ijaw, Brass, Ekeremor and Nembe as well as secure international support for greater impact in the state.

By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa