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Flood: Why Bayelsa schools can’t reopen now

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6 years ago

October 27, 2018

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…Dickson Offers Automatic Employment To First Class Graduates

YENAGOA/ The Governor of Bayelsa State, the Honourable Henry Seriake Dickson, has explained why schools in Bayelsa which were closed on September 29, 2018 as a result of flooding, have not been reopened.

The Governor said in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Mr. Fidelis Soriwei, on Saturday, that the schools would not be reopened in a hurry because of the need to protect children who are vulnerable to water borne diseases.

The statement quoted Governor Dickson as having made the comment during a media chat in Yenagoa.

However, the Governor assured the people of the state that the schools would not be closed for too long going by reports of the assessment of the level of the flood by a committee led by the Commissioner for Education, Hon. Jonathan Obuebite.

According to him, the Ministry of Education was working towards ensuring that the closure of the schools in the state does not affect the overall performance of students in the forthcoming West African Examination Council.

The Governor noted that while the flood had started to recede, government was more concerned about the health and safety of the children.

He said that the government was taking steps to ensure proper sanitation of all the schools including the ones that were converted to camps for displaced persons before children are allowed into them.

“We ordered a forced closure of all schools about a month ago to ensure the safety of the children. But now that the flood is receding, we will do everything possible to make our schools habitable before announcing the resumption of schools.

“But let me assure you that, that will not be too long from now. The State Ministry of Education is monitoring the water level and making daily reports to me. We are not in a hurry to push children who are vulnerable to harm’s way.

“On the issue of the performance of our students in national examinations, I want to assure you that government will encourage all schools to make some adjustments to enable them to make up for lost time,” He said

The governor who commended the flood victims for their resilience said the government would do its best to ameliorate the plight of displaced persons and ensure their resettlement into their communities

He called for collaboration in proffering long term solutions to address the flood issue through the dredging of the major rivers, tributaries, shore protection as well as construction of sea walls and shelters.

Meanwhile, the Governor has offered automatic employment to all indigenes of Bayelsa State who graduated with first class in their respective areas of studies.

Governor Dickson called on all First Class graduates who did not pick the form for the employment process for the 1000 vacancies announced earlier to approach the civil service commission for enrollment into the service.

He explained that the automatic employment of first class graduates would be in addition to the 1000 graduates awaiting oral interview to be conducted by the Civil Service Commission.

He explained that his desire to bequeathed a vibrant and productive civil servant inspired the decision to engage all first class graduates in the state.