The Rivers State Government has approved the recruitment of 5,000 teachers into the state civil service to tackle manpower shortages and strengthen the public education system.
The approval was granted at the second Rivers State Executive Council meeting of 2026 held at the Government House, Port Harcourt, and presided over by Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
Briefing journalists after the meeting, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Communications, Honor Sirawoo, said the recruitment was part of the administration’s commitment to reposition education as a key driver of development in the state.
According to him, 3,000 teachers will be deployed to basic and primary schools, while 2,000 will be posted to post-primary institutions, a move expected to reduce student–teacher ratios and improve learning outcomes across urban and rural communities.
Sirawoo disclosed that the recruitment exercise, which is expected to commence in the coming weeks brings the total number of employments under the Fubara administration to about 9,500.
He recalled that earlier recruitment exercises had absorbed 2,000 personnel into the health sector, 1,500 into the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education and 1,000 into the Universal Basic Education Board.
“The recruitment process will be strictly merit-based, as the administration is more concerned with effective service delivery than publicity,” Sirawoo said.
Also speaking, the Commissioner for Employment Generation and Economic Empowerment, Chisom Gbali, described the council’s decision as a major boost to job creation and human capital development in the state.
Education stakeholders have described the recruitment as timely, noting that persistent teacher shortages had continued to affect the quality of public education in the state.
