Bayelsa to employ 1,925 teachers, 2012 health workers

Bayelsa State Government has announced its plan to employ 1,925 teachers for both the primary and secondary schools in the State.

The government is also to employ about 2012 health workers to boost the various Primary Healthcare Centres across the eight Local Government Areas.

These are part of the resolutions from the 115th State Executive Council meeting presided by the Governor, Senator Douye Diri.

Briefing newsmen after the meeting, the Commissioner for Information, Orientation and Strategy, Ayiba Duba, said the decision on the employment was a result of the Needs Assessment conducted to identify gaps in both the education and health sectors.

Giving the breakdown on the teachers employment, the Education Commissioner, Dr. Gentle Emelah, said 250 teachers would be employed to fill the required manpower in the Primary schools while 1,675 would be employed for various subjects in the secondary schools.

According to him, out of the 1,675 secondary school teachers, 680 persons would be engaged to handle languages of Ijaw, French and Chinese while the remaining 995 teachers would be for other subjects.

Emelah said French and Chinese languages had become very relevant in global businesses today, hence, the need to introduce them in the schools to prepare the young people for a greater future.

In the health sector, the Commissioner in charge of the ministry, Dr. Pabara Newton Igwele, said the Primary Health board in the latest employment would recruit medical doctors, nurses and other health professionals.

“And about 2012 persons are expected to be employed in a staggered form in the Health sector and this includes doctors, health information management officers, nurses and midwives, community health extension workers, junior community health extension workers, pharmacy technicians, laboratory technicians, the environmental health officers, the community health officers, traditional birth attendants.”

Also, the Council meeting approved the immediate relocation of the Etegwe market along the Amassoma road to another location within Etegwe.

Commissioner for Lands,Housing and Urban Development, Mr. Andrew Esau, said the current location was never a designated place as the stretch is a Shell Petroleum Development Company pipeline Right of Way.