Bayelsa Moves To Prioritise Teaching Of Ijaw, French, Chinese In Schools

Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Lawrence 

Why teaching Chinese and French in public schools is a priority, according to deputy governor of Bayelsa Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo

The Bayelsa State Government has decided to give Ijaw, French, and Chinese language instruction top priority in public schools.

Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, the deputy governor of the state, revealed the information on Thursday, January 25, in Yenagoa.

According to him, the government places a strong emphasis on teaching the three languages as well as the fundamental science courses, which include mathematics, in order to give students the skills they need to pursue careers in those fields.

As a major state actor in international trade and commerce, China's increasing economic influence in world affairs, in his opinion, justifies the inclusion of Chinese as a subject in the school curriculum

“We have made it compulsory; we are pursuing STEM because we believe that with that, the negative impression of Bayelsa State would change sooner or later.

“In our teachers' recruitment we deliberately laid emphasis on science, ICT and mathematics. We are recruiting more teachers in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, agricultural science and computer science.

“The other subjects we are placing priority on are Chinese, French and Ijaw languages,” he said.