The Bayelsa State Government has commenced a process of moving qualified civil servants from their ministries and agencies to the classrooms.
Persons to be converted to teachers in primary and secondary schools were said to be those, whose qualifications and degrees were relevant to the teaching profession.
The decision, it was gathered, was taken at the 79th session of the state Executive Council Committee meeting held in Yenagoa.
Confirming the development, the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr. Jonathan Obuebite, said the committee would be headed by the Deputy Governor, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John Jonah (rtd).
It was learnt that as part of measures to improve the educational system in public schools, the state government had already constituted a committee with a mandate to identify and collate data of such civil servants.
He said the government was prepared to sustain its investment in the education sector adding that the move was to redeploy the workers to their field of specialization.
He insisted that the development was part of measures adopted by the government to address the challenges in the public service.
Obuebite said the civil servants would be retrained at the Teachers’ Training Academy at Bulou Orua, to boost their efficiency and productivity before redeployment.
He said: “In pursuance to our educational policy in the state where government has invested so much in the sector, government has decided to reap the dividends of its massive investments by strengthening the educational system as part of measures to also address some of the challenges in the public service.’’
He named other members of the committee as Head of Service, Thomas Zidafamor; Chief of Staff, Government House, Mr. Talford Ongolo; the Commissioners for Education, Local Government Administration, Mrs. Agatha Goma and that of Science and Technology and Manpower Development, Chief Ipigansi Izagara.