The Rivers State Ministry of Education has commenced monitoring of schools across the State to assess compliance with the resumption directive for the 2026/2027 academic session.
The monitoring exercise, led by the Commissioner for Education, Peters Nwagor, and the Permanent Secretary, Mina Tele Ikuru, took place on Monday, September 7, 2026, the first day of the new academic session.
The team, comprising Directors and other senior officials of the Ministry, visited selected schools in Port Harcourt to ascertain the level of resumption by students and teachers and the commencement of academic activities.
Speaking with journalists after the exercise, Commissioner, Peters Nwagor expressed satisfaction with what he described as an impressive turnout of students and teachers in the schools visited. He said the schools had fully resumed, with teachers already at their duty posts and academic activities commencing in earnest.
According to him, the State Government remains committed to ensuring that every child of school age has access to quality education, while urging students to return to school promptly and take their studies seriously.
“School admission is free, and education is free in Rivers State. Every parent should endeavour to send his or her child to school without any form of payment. That remains the education policy of the State.”
The Commissioner further said Governor Siminalayi Fubara had taken deliberate and far-reaching steps to revitalise the education sector and improve learning facilities across the State. He assured that schools in Rivers State would witness significant upgrades in the coming months to provide a more conducive environment for teaching and learning.
Nwagor therefore appealed to parents and guardians whose children and wards were yet to return to school to do so without delay, stressing that normal academic activities had commenced.
“We have gone round some schools in Port Harcourt and witnessed full resumption in all the schools visited. We are highly impressed by the turnout of students and teachers.”
The Commissioner particularly commended teachers for turning out en masse and urged them to remain dedicated to their duties, noting that teachers play a critical role in nurturing, guiding and moulding the lives of young people, noting that plans are ongoing for the recruitment of additional teachers by the Rivers State government to upgrade teaching and learning activities.
He further warned that schools in Rivers State that fails to resume academic activities as directed by Rivers State Ministry of Education will be sanctioned
“We are also hoping that in the next 2 to 3 weeks, 5 thousand teachers will be posted to schools to upgrade the teaching and learning activities in schools.
Most schools visited this morning, students have reported and teachers are fully in their offices, getting ready for learning activities today.
The charge is for the teachers to start teaching, the students to respond quickly by attending school and doing their assignments and taking notes because without that they cannot achieve their goals “
Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary, Mina Tele-Ikuru, encouraged students to be disciplined, diligent and attentive to their studies. She urged them to listen carefully to their teachers, cultivate good learning habits and remain focused on their academic pursuits.
Ikuru also appreciated teachers for their commitment and sense of responsibility, describing them as key partners in nurturing young minds and building a brighter future for Rivers State.
Our correspondent reports that the schools visited during the monitoring exercise include Community Secondary School, Rumuepirikom; Community Secondary School, Olanada; and State Primary Schools 1 and 2, Olanada.
