KAGOTE Deploys 1,000 Volunteer Teachers to Ogoni Primary Schools as LGAs Pledge Support

The Khana, Gokana, Tai, Eleme Consultative Forum, KAGOTE, has deployed about 1,000 volunteer teachers to public primary schools across Ogoniland, in what it described as an emergency intervention to address the acute shortage of teachers in the area.

The volunteer teachers were formally received on Friday, September 4, 2026, at Giniwa Hall, Tai Local Government Council Secretariat, Sakpenwa, Rivers State. The event drew KAGOTE leadership, chairmen of the four Ogoni LGAs, political leaders, traditional rulers, and education stakeholders.

The deployment is the climax of KAGOTE’s Educational Intervention Programme, an initiative launched to provide an immediate, community-driven solution to the manpower gap in Ogoni public primary schools.

Speaking at the reception, KAGOTE President, Lesi Maol, said education became a top priority immediately after he assumed office. He constituted an Education Intervention Committee to audit the state of schools and determine if existing teachers were enough to meet pupils’ needs.

The findings, he said, were alarming. In several communities, primary schools were running with just one or two teachers alongside the head teacher.

“Faced with that reality, KAGOTE had no choice but to declare education an emergency in Ogoniland and act,” Maol stated.

Over 5,000 people applied to volunteer. After screening, 1,000 were selected and assigned to teach in their hometowns. Maol stressed that the programme was not designed as permanent employment, but as a service to the Ogoni child while the government makes broader interventions, and charges the volunteers to take the assignment seriously.

“So my advice to all of you would be congratulations first. We have decided that you teach in your hometown.”

He warned that collecting stipends without teaching would be a disservice to the community.

“that child you refuse to teach will be the ‘Deebam’ and the ‘Deewell’ that will kill you tomorrow. But if we groom them together, we will have a better society. The sanity we want to provide is for ourselves, for humanity, for Ogoni, and for generations to come,” Maol added.

The intervention received strong backing from government officials present. Chairman of NUPRC, Magnus Abe, and the council chairmen of Tai, Khana, and Eleme, Mbakponee Okpe, Thomas Bariere, and Obarilomate Ollor respectively — all pledged collaboration and support to sustain the scheme.

Education stakeholders at the event described the deployment as a bold and timely step. They noted that with consistent monitoring and LGA support, the 1,000 teachers could significantly improve learning outcomes and reduce the burden on the few existing staff in Ogoni primary schools.

KAGOTE said it will continue to engage government at state and federal levels for permanent recruitment of teachers, while the volunteer scheme serves as a bridge to keep classrooms functional.

The organisation reaffirmed its commitment to making education the foundation of Ogoni’s long-term development.