E. Equatoria: UNICEF calls for increment in school enrollment
By Julius N. Uma July 22, 2012 (OWINYKIBUL) - The country representative for the United Nations Children Fund on Friday urged parents in South Sudan’s Eastern Equatoria State (EES) to send more children to school a remedy to the low enrolment rate in the region. UNICEF country representative, Yasmin Haque speaks at the inauguration of Owinykibul central primary school, July 20, 2012 (ST) Yasmin Haque made these remarks during the official inauguration of Owinykibul central primary school, Magwi County in EES. The school, one of the 34 that benefitted from funds from the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DIFID), was built by UNICEF with technical assistance from the United Nations Office for Procurement Services (UNOPS. The construction of the school, official say, will enable hundred children both from within and outside the region to access learning, some for the first time in their lives. "Out of every 10 children of the school going age, only three are attending schools in Eastern Equatoria, which makes its enrolment the lowest in the 10 states of South Sudan," said Yasmin. She however expressed optimism that the completion of the new school facility provides a unique opportunity for children in the community to attain quality education, but emphasized hard work in reference to the primary school motto, "Hard work pays." The school, which started operating on 2008 with just 400 pupils, currently boosts of over 1, 200, and its enrolment, is anticipated to rise in coming years. In South Sudan, access to education is still a major challenge to many, with only 27 percent of the populations said to be literate, according to the country’s National Bureau of Statistics. Michel Lotyam, the EES Minister for Education, while speaking at the same event decried the low education levels in the state, which he largely attributed to both the socio-psychological and devastating effects the long years of civil war had on the population. “We were affected by long years of war as everyone knows, but apart from that we still have certain cultures and traditional beliefs among our communities which hinder education of children,” he said. “For instance, more girls enroll at the early stages of primary education, but tend to drop out as they advance upwards,” the minister added, while emphasizing the importance of girl-child education. The Education minister, however, urged the community in the region to desist from ethnicity and tribalism practices, which he said leads to serious setback in education progress in the country. He thanked the donors for extending support to the region, further pledging commitment from government for positive partnership. Meanwhile, George Mogga, a director of planning at the national education ministry said government plans to have at least 2,000 primary schools all over the country by 2020. Also underway, he further disclosed, is the enactment of the long-awaited Education Bill for South Sudan, as well as all other education policies require to guide the sector. (ST) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
