Govt’s Lip-Service Killing Education Standards, Says Diri

YENAGOA – Governor of Bayelsa State, Douye Diri, has attributed the continuous fall in the country’s educational standards to the abdication of responsibility by government.

He said achieving quality sustainable education is becoming increasingly difficult as key stakeholders were not playing their roles well.

Diri spoke on Tuesday at Toru-Orua in the Sagbama Local Government Area while flagging-off the fifth batch of primary school teachers training programme organised by the State Teachers Training, Registration and Certification Board (TTRCB).

The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, lambasted all tiers of government for paying lip-service to measures that were capable of strengthening primary education.

He also berated teachers, community leaders and other stakeholders for their nonchalant attitude towards education, adding that the faulty foundation being created at the primary school level was stifling standards of education in the country.

While underscoring the importance of training and re-training of teachers, he pointed out that no education system could rise above the quality of its teachers, assuring the participants of government’s commitment to funding the training programme.

He advised the teachers to be passionate, humble and determined in the discharge of their duties, bearing in mind that, to a large extent, quality education delivery rests on them.

Diri said, “No doubt, that our education system is wobbling and tottering because the primary school system has been eroded and destroyed, for three reasons.

“First, the incompetence of those managing it; the lack of government commitment towards education, and the unwillingness of the communities themselves to support the system. So there is a pile of blame to be apportioned to everybody.

“Government has paid too much lip-service to the primary education system. Commitment of government is more of rhetoric than of practicality; it is more of talk and less of work.”

He, therefore, called on government at all levels across the country to take the challenges bedeviling primary school more seriously.

In her opening remarks, the Executive Chairman of Bayelsa Teachers Training, Registration and Certification Board, Peremoboere Ugolo, said the board was committed to quality assurance in the delivery of education services in the state.