Bayelsa State is set to look into issues concerning lingering accreditation in its state-owned tertiary institutions as Governor Douye Diri has constituted a committee with Secretary to the State Government, Konbowei Benson, as chairman.
Diri who constituted the committee in a meeting with heads of the state-owned tertiary institutions in Government House on Monday gave it two weeks to submit its report saying it was necessary to secure the future of students and graduates of the institutions.
Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Daniel Alabrah, in a press statement said the governor vowed to do everything in his power to address the pending issue while restating the state government’s commitment to development of the educational sector.
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The governor sympathised with students and graduates of the affected institutions and cautioned against demonstrations, stressing that dialogue remains the best way to resolve issues.
“You know that the government has competing needs, but because we have taken education as a priority, we would not allow our tertiary Institutions to go down.
“The committee must report to me every week because from what I have heard from some of the heads of the affected institutions, there is no time anymore. So this committee has just two weeks to work. Then we would look at what we can do to assist all the higher institutions,” he said.
The committee is to ensure accreditation of all programmes of tertiary institutions by the relevant bodies and work out modalities for the issuance of certificates to graduates of the College of Education in Sagbama.
The committee is also to ensure that graduates of the School of Health Technology, Otuogidi, in Ogbia Local Government Area participate in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme.
Speaking on behalf of the higher institutions, the Vice Chancellor, Niger Delta University (NDU), Samuel Edoumiekumo, said most of the higher institutions had accreditation issues and appealed to Diri for support.
The committee has the Commissioner for Education, Gentle Emelah, as secretary, and includes the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Biriyai Dambo, Commissioner for Finance, Maxwell Ebibai, and Principal Secretary, Government House, Iroro Komonibo, as members.
Other members of the committee are the Vice Chancellor, Niger Delta University, Samuel Edoumiekumo, and the Rector, Bayelsa State Polytechnic, Aleibiri, Promise Mebine.
