TONY JOHN, Port Harcourt
Rivers State Government has begun processes to the payment of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) fee for eligible Rivers students in SS3.
This is in fulfillment of Governor Nyesom Wike’s promise to ensure that every Rivers child has access to education and equal opportunities
According to the state Ministry of Education, principals of public and private Slschools are to register all eligible students on the platform of Rivers Education Management Information System on RIVemis.
Addressing principals of public and approved private senior secondary schools, yesterday, the state Commissioner for Education, Professor Kaniye Ebeku, said Governor Wike is desirous to impact the lives of Rivers people.
Ebeku stated that the registration on RIVemis is to furnish the state government with the accurate number of students eligible for the examination.
He directed the principals to ensure that all eligible Rivers students are uploaded on the platform before the close of work on Tuesday, January 14.
The Education Commissioner warned against uploading names of persons, who are not Rivers indigenes and students on the platform.
Also speaking, Special Assistant to the Governor on Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Ibufuro Asawo, explained that the registration of students on the RIVemis platform is free.
He expressed worry that many schools were yet to take advantage of the platform despite series of campaigns by the ICT department on social and conventional media.
He, however, expressed readiness to ensure students of the schools were uploaded on the platform before the deadline prior to the cooperation of principals of senior secondary schools in the state.
For her part, JAMB Zonal Coordinator for Rivers, Oyinkansola Odhigada, lauded the state governor for the decision of sponsoring Rivers indigenes for the examinations.
Odhigada hinted that the examination board will commence mock exams in preparation for the UTME on January 18, and expressed the willingness of the board to work in synergy with the state government through the Ministry of Education.