7 July 2009 - New report sheds light on continued barriers to education in Southern SudanA new report from the Government of Southern Sudan’s Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and UNICEF, released on the occasion of Girls' Education Day in Southern Sudan today, provides vital information on barriers to schooling that will help address the challenges in ensuring full participation in education in Southern Sudan at all levels. While estimated school enrolment has more than trebled in Southern Sudan since 2005, the report identifies continued obstacles to school attendance, including:
“A concerted effort is needed by all partners in education in Southern Sudan so these barriers can be addressed and as many children as possible can be given the access to education that is their right,” said His Excellency William Ater Maciek, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Education Science and Technology of the Government of Southern Sudan. “If the matters raised in this report help in any way to achieve these goals, it will have served its purpose,” he added. The study, undertaken between August and October 2008, also explores obstacles such as the unfriendly environment of some schools where students experience sexual harassment, early pregnancy, and child-to-child violence. The study also raises questions of constraints on key human resources, including poorly educated and trained staff handling expanding class sizes, limited supervision at county and state levels, and poor motivation causing teachers to quite the profession. The latest study reinforces the findings of the 2006 Rapid Assessment of Learning Spaces, which found that more than half of school age children in Southern Sudan were not in school for a variety of reasons including early marriage, age lapse and economic pressures on families. “While clearly showing the challenges to school enrolment in Southern Sudan, this study also enables us to better understand those challenges, and ultimately will help us tackle the factors that are preventing full participation in education in Southern Sudan,” said Peter Crowley, Director of Operations for the UNICEF Southern Sudan Area Programme. “The recommendations of this study will also help us address the specific challenges of vulnerable groups, particularly girls, in accessing and completing a full education,” he said. The study, covering mainly primary schooling in Upper Nile, Lakes and Western Bahr El Ghazal States, involved interviews with education officials at all levels from government officials to schools and households including parents and children. Focus group discussions with teachers and pupils were undertaken as well as a quantitative household survey involving over 1,195 households in three states of Southern Sudan. The study goes on to make a number of recommendations, including increasing the allocation of resources from the national budget. The study also proposes stronger participation of various players, including state-level institutions, and community and national institutions in removing barriers and improve the quality of education in Southern Sudan. “These recommendations, and the other lessons we learn ourselves from this study, will help ensure that the goal of providing a quality education for every child in Southern Sudan by 2015 can be achieved,” said Peter Crowley.
Socio-economic and cultural barriers to schooling in Southern Sudan (2008) Download the 2008 report on socio-economic and cultural barriers to schooling in Southern Sudan (PDF format) [PDF] (PDF documents require Acrobat Reader to view.) How one girl is tackling barriers to learning in Southern Sudan |
