Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to transforming the state’s education sector through science, technology, and foundational learning.
This was made known by the Commissioner for Education, Dr. Gentle Emelah, in a statement issued Monday in Yenagoa, which highlighted Governor Diri’s participation at the 2025 Education World Forum in London.
According to Emelah, in an exclusive interview with Times Higher Education, Governor Diri presented Bayelsa’s innovative approach to building an inclusive and resilient education system amid environmental and socio-economic challenges.
“Education is not just a policy priority for us. It is the foundation of inclusive development and long-term stability,” Diri was quoted as saying.
The governor shared his perspectives on the sidelines of the four-day summit, which was attended by over 1,300 policymakers and 150 education ministers from across the globe.
He explained how Bayelsa is tackling disruptions such as seasonal flooding, oil pollution, and learning losses from the COVID-19 pandemic by adopting data-driven and equitable strategies.
Central to these reforms is BayelsaPRIME—Bayelsa Promoting Reforms to Improve and Modernise Education—a foundational learning initiative launched in 2023 with technical support from NewGlobe.
The programme has rolled out digital learning tools across all public primary schools in the state, enabling real-time monitoring of teacher attendance and lesson delivery.
“In our state, we also have the issue of oil pollution, which has exacerbated the effects of climate change,” Diri noted. “The other thing we did was that we went into digital learning at the basic education level with the introduction of BayelsaPRIME.