Delta To Professionalise Sports Education, Mgt - Ebie ~ Truth Reporters

The Delta State Government has expressed intentions to conquer newer grounds in youth and sports development through the engagement of qualified professionals in the areas of education and management at all levels.

The Secretary to the State Government (SSG) Mr Chiedu Ebie who revealed this in Asaba over the weekend while receiving the South-South regional executives of Nigeria Association for Physical Health Education Recreation, Sports and Dance (NAPHER-SD), said that the administration of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa was determined to consolidate on achievements in school sports.

While recollecting his accomplishments in school sports during his tenure as the immediate past Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, the SSG said that such achievements were made possible because of the support and cooperation he enjoyed from Governor Okowa.

Ebie disclosed that although recruitment for teachers in English and the Sciences was ongoing, the exercise which he noted was carried out in batches would ensure that only qualified candidates were selected through a transparent process, stressing that such standards would also be applied in employing Physical Education experts in due course.

Recognizing the correlation of sports and education, Ebie said that the state government would continue to support the development of school sports, adding that it (sports) remained a unifying factor for mutual coexistence of diversities in the human race.

Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman of NAPHER-SD, Prof Charles O’Neill, appealed for the professionalization of sports education to allow experts in Physical Education teach the subject in schools.

O’Neill also requested that coaches, especially those with qualifications should be made to progress with their counterparts in the civil service and be allowed to reach level 17 and should also be captured in the scheme of service.

Admitting that Delta State was the pacesetter for other states in sports, O’Neill commended the state government for the competition and maximum utilization of the Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba, noting that it was important to upgrade other sports facilities across the state.

He congratulated Ebie on his appointment as the SSG and commended him for his innovations in school sports during his time as commissioner in Governor Okowa’s first term.