Hope rises for public schools, as Gov. Fubara pledges to restore old glory

Barth Ndubuwah, Port Harcourt

The Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has assured that his administration will transform the educational system in the state to ensure that parents bring back their children and wards from private to public schools.

Accordingly, the school supervision is to be strengthened to make public schools a shining model to achieve desired goals.

Governor Fubara disclosed this while addressing members of the Rivers State Parents Teachers’ Association (PTA) for All Government Schools during a solidarity visit at Government House, Port Harcourt on Wednesday.

Represented by the Head of Rivers State Civil Service, Dr George Nwaeke, Governor Fubara noted the government’s plans to give public schools a facelift both in terms of infrastructure and content development.

The Governor pointed out that government efforts were aimed at reducing the burden on parents who he said  spent a greater percentage of their meagre salaries for school fees, with a view to making life better for their children.

“We are going to transform the school system in Rivers State. The school supervision is also going to be made stronger.

“Many people are forced to take their children to private schools. We will make our schools to be models whereby there will be an osmotic movement from the private schools back to the public schools.

“Many people, the minimum wage is not enough for them, because they have to pay for private schools’ fees. But when we rebuild government schools in terms of infrastructure, and more importantly the content, people will come back from the private schools.

“When that happens, parents will have less to pay, cost of living will become lower and standard of living will become higher and a better economy for us,” he noted.

Governor Fubara also frowned at a situation where parents go to schools to harass teachers who discipline their children and wards, saying that his administration will not tolerate such negative trends.

The Governor, therefore, sued for a symbiotic relationship between parents and teachers to ensure that parents give teachers the needed support to teach their children properly, while teachers in turn, see their pupils as their own children.

He said, “Government is desirous to turn around the fortunes of our schools. Parents, please allow your children to be taught. I hear that some parents go to schools to molest teachers. This administration will not tolerate that. We cannot, in any way, condone indiscipline.

“When you remove discipline from a child’s upbringing, that child cannot be well brought up. So, when you bring your children to school, allow them to be taught.

“And to you teachers, when parents also bring their children, treat them like your children. There should not be any difference between your biological children and other children,” he emphasised.

While maintaining that the state government had carried teachers along, unlike the previous administration, which denied them promotion and failed to assist in the building of their Secretariat, Governor Fubara admonished parents and teachers to join hands with the government to turn around the school system.

“The Government has done much for teachers. All the teachers are civil servants, and I am the Head of Service. I can say authoritatively that all of us received N100,000.00 each in December, 2023, in addition to our salaries.

“Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) is the body that manages all the teachers in the state. They have a structure they are building somewhere which has stayed there for many years. As we speak, the sum of N250 million has been released to finish that building.

“Before now, the previous administration did not care much about what happens in schools. Teachers were using their money to run schools. It’s no longer so now. Money has been released to the Senior Secondary Schools Board to purchase instructional and educational materials which they will use.

“Teachers, you were not promoted for many years. This Governor came and you were promoted and also paid arrears. To him that much has been given, they say, much is also expected. Let every teacher sit up now. Let every parent try as much as possible to cooperate so that we can achieve set goals,” he said.

Governor Fubara assured that with the rightful support and every person doing his or her own part, the government will hand over to our children a state that is better than what it met.

Presenting the address of members of the Parents Teachers’ Association for All Government Schools, the State Chairman, Comrade Boma Watson Allison, said the solidarity visit was to congratulate the Governor for his lofty achievements, people-centric programmes and policies in his first year in office.

Comrade Allison, who listed the Andoni section of the Ogoni-Andoni-Opobo Unity Road, Elele-Egbeda-Omoku Road, the Trans-Kalabari Road, Eleme-Old Bori Road, and rehabilitation of RTC as part of the Governor’s achievements, pledged their loyalty and unflinching support to the administration.

He, however, drew the attention of the Governor to some pressing needs of the PTA, including recruitment of teachers, payment of imprest to principals and head teachers, rehabilitation and infrastructural development of schools, and appealed to him to look into the issues, with a view to solving them.