Over 41,000 pupils, 2,800 teachers benefit from Bayelsa education reform— Emelah

…other states show interest in Bayelsa’s basic education reform model

Gentle Emelah, the commissioner for education in Bayelsa State has revealed that over 41,000 pupils, 2,800 teachers and head teachers in at least 150 communities are benefiting from the state’s education reform since its inception.

Emelah made this known while speaking in a radio programme recently in Yenagoa, the state capital as a guest when that since the implementation of the initiative there has been remarkable improvement in teaching and learning in the pilot 216 schools, located in four local government areas.

“Over 41,000 pupils, 2,800 teachers and head teachers in at least 150 communities are benefiting from the reform.

“I can tell you that some of my fellow education commissioners have been calling me, asking questions about what is happening in our state with a view of adopting our basic education reform model in their states,” he said.

In 2023, the Douye Diri administration launched BayelsaPRIME, a basic education reform programme to address major challenges in basic education service delivery and poor learning outcomes among children in state-owned primary schools.

According to the commissioner of education, the ultimate goal of the reform programme was to deliver dramatic improvement in learning outcomes; and within a space of one year, some states in Nigeria are already indicating interest in implementing basic education reform.

“One of the commissioners was full of excitement and he is going to take a look with his governor and as we speak they are preparing for their state to equally come on board,” Emelah stressed.

Emelah further explained that the programme is successfully addressing challenges with teacher truancy and absenteeism, lack of adequate learning and instructional materials, paucity of teacher professional development and poor pupil attendance and enrollment.

“So far, teacher attendance has improved from as low as 39 per cent at the beginning of the programme to as high as 80 per cent in many cases. Pupil attendance has also grown because of the aggressive monitoring we have in place.

“A measurement and evaluation exercise carried out a few months after the implementation of programme showed that there is measured improvement in learning outcomes,” he explained.

In addition, he said that after only 19 weeks of instruction, the percentage of non-readers dropped. A significantly higher number of pupils improved in their ability to comprehend and benefit more from what they read. Primary six’s comprehension scores were 80 per cent higher than expected, and Primary two were triple compared to non-BayelsaPRIME schools.

The programme he reiterated improved the average numeracy scores of every primary grade. Every grade in the programme outperformed their peers in comparison schools.

The programme dramatically increased the rate at which pupils learn math. Primary three to five pupils gained a year’s worth of math instruction in just 19 weeks.

The commissioner emphasised that the reform programme is billed for expansion into other local government areas of Bayelsa State in the months ahead.