Bayela State Governor, Duoye Diri.
Bayelsa State has begun moves to introduce scrabble and chess into its secondary schools, with the Commissioner for Sports Development, Daniel Igali, leading a delegation from the Ministry of Sports Development to the Ministry of Education to commence planning for the state’s maiden Secondary Schools Scrabble Championship.
The initiative follows a directive from Governor Douye Diri, who unveiled the plan during the sixth edition of the Governor Diri National Scrabble Classics. The meeting with the Commissioner for Education, Emelah Gentle, focused on developing a practical roadmap for rolling out scrabble across secondary schools in the state, while both ministries also discussed introducing chess alongside it to broaden students’ intellectual development and strengthen critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
Igali reaffirmed his ministry’s commitment to partnering with the Ministry of Education to nurture young talent through intellectual sports, expressing confidence that Bayelsa will produce future national and international champions in both disciplines.
He explained that the programme will adopt a train-the-trainer approach, with coaches from the Bayelsa State Sports Council training selected teachers, who will in turn prepare and mentor students ahead of the championship.
