Unity: Leer county pupils top the state in primary school exams
May 26, 2013 (KAMPALA) – Pupils from Leer county made up the first seven positions in Unity’s state’s top 10 performers in the 2013 primary school examinations.
Mary John school in Leer county was also named as the top performing school state-wide.
The construction of the school was funded by South Sudanese singer Emanuel Jal after the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).
Jal served in South Sudan’s Red Army, comprised of child soldiers, during the decades-long north-South civil war, with many of his songs were inspired by his experiences.
In an interview with Sudan Tribune, Leer county educational director Jeremiah Gatnor confirmed that the county had topped the state in terms of pupils’ performance, largely due to the tireless efforts of both teachers and pupils.
He said most teachers had been provided with training by various organisations on lesson planning and classroom strategies.
Teachers in South Sudan receive about 200 South Sudanese pounds (less than $100) per month, with the low salaries forcing many to abandon their profession, leaving a significant education gap in schools.
In a bid to improve their financial situation, 40 teachers in Unity state last year submitted job applications to the United Nation Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) to work as security personnel across nine counties.
A source in the state ministry of education, who preferred to remain anonymous, told Sudan Tribune that the UNMISS postings offered a salary double what teachers could expect to make in 18 months as a ministry employee.
He said that if government does not improve teacher salaries the South Sudanese education system will never progress for the welfare of ordinary citizens, adding that teachers were increasingly being forced to abandon their profession in favour of better paying positions to support their families.
Gatnor told Sudan Tribune on Sunday that the “poor payments” made to teachers is driving a shortage of qualified teachers right across South Sudan’s 10 states.
Gatnor said there remained a need for the government to open a national training centre for both primary and secondary level teachers, particularly in Arabic language.
The county education director has also urged the government to restructure the payment scale of teachers in order to ensure a brighter future for South Sudanese children, saying “education is [the] key of life”.
Education standards in the country continue to remain poor eight years after the CPA was signed.
Many citizens claim that the trend of top government officials sending their children abroad for their studies is contributing to the deterioration of South Sudan’s education system.
(ST)