Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake
Dickson, has explained why his administration introduced the boarding
school system, which was non-existent in the state before the inception
of his administration in 2012.....
Governor Dickson spoke on Thursday at the
Civic Centre in Lagos during a colloquium entitled: “Raising A Wise
Generation: Revamping Nigeria’s Secondary Education” organised by
Government College, Ughelli Old Boys Association, September ‘73 Class.
Speaking on the topic: “Grassroots
Education,” the Bayelsa Governor, who was one of the guest speakers at
the event, said he decided to invest heavily in secondary education to
empower the youth with requisite knowledge capable of discouraging them
from taking to militancy, stressing that there is a correlation between
illiteracy and militancy in the region.
He said the establishment of boarding
schools across the state and the free and compulsory education at
primary and secondary levels have democratised education in the state
and the grassroots in particular.
“When I took over, there was no single boarding school in Bayelsa State. If you
are wondering why some places have issues of militancy, insurgency,
instability, criminality and other similar crises, you just need to look
at the state of investment in education.
‘’When I became governor in 2012,
standing on the podium at my inauguration, I declared a state of
emergency in education…At the dinner, some of my friends said free
education would destroy my government and they asked where I would have
the money to fund free education. I said I would plug the leakages, get
the priority right and fund free education.
‘‘Now, in Bayelsa, we have built almost
15 model boarding schools, feeding the students free of charge and they
are on scholarship. One of them is the flagship boarding secondary
school, the Ijaw National Academy, with over 1,000 students.
“We selected the best boys and girls from
all the primary schools irrespective of their background from all the
Ijaw-speaking areas along the coastline of Nigeria – Rivers, Akwa Ibom,
Delta, Edo and Ondo,’’ he said.
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