South Sudanese parliament receives sample textbooks
May 28, 2013 (KAMPALA) – The head of the South Sudanese parliament’s education, research, science and technology committee, Samson Ezekiel Ndukpo, received three sets of new textbooks and teacher guides on Tuesday.
The new syllabus is being distributed across South Sudan by logistics company Charles Kendall and Partners with the support of the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID).
The sample provided to the MP includes textbooks books and teacher guides from primary grades one to eight.
The books, which cover five core subjects of English, science, religious education, mathematics and social studies, are the first revised textbooks that have been written and designed by South Sudanese educationalists for South Sudanese children under the current national curriculum.
Students across South Sudan face enormous challenges in terms of reading materials with at nine students sometimes sharing one textbook. The lack of books stifles the quality of education and is one of the main causes of high drops out from primary education.
South Sudan has some of the worst literacy rates in the world.
According to DFID, 15% of dropouts between 2008-2009 were due to lack of textbooks.
Since late last year there has been an ongoing textbook distribution aiming to provide enough books to ensure that all pupils in primary grade one to four will have access to their own books, while every student in grade five to eight will share the textbooks with about two colleagues.
Thus far, the national textbook distribution, which started in December 2012, has supplied textbooks, teacher guides and readers to half of the primary schools and adult learning centres in South Sudan.
Schools in Western Bahr el Ghazal, Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Lakes, Central Equatoria and Warrap states have been completed and are ongoing in Eastern Equatoria, Unity, Western Equatoria, Jonglei and Upper Nile States, the company said.
More than 5,000 primary schools will be supplied with 9.6 million textbooks, teacher guides and readers’ facilities.
(ST)