Canada, UK urge South Sudan to invest more in education

WAU — Education stakeholders on Tuesday called on the government of South Sudan to increase investment in the education sector to improve access to quality learning.

Donors, including representatives from the UK and Canada, emphasised the need for a greater financial commitment to improve the education sector during their inspection of educational facilities in Wau, Western Bahr el Ghazal, on Tuesday.

The purpose of their visit to Wau was to initiate the Back-to-School program, review education and health projects, and engage with teachers, students, and health workers.

Speaking to reporters after the inspection on Tuesday, Amb. David Ashley, the UK Head of Mission to South Sudan, stated that the UK has invested in the education and health sectors in South Sudan.

“According to the agreement made between the UK and the government of South Sudan before 2020, there was an agreement that we would contribute to capitation grants for secondary schools and South Sudan would pay those for primary schools, and that has not yet happened,” said Ashley.

He emphasised that it is the country’s primary responsibility to invest in its children’s education.

“We’ve seen that good progress can be made, and exam results for Wau indicate that for Alel-Chok Complex, it is among the best in the country, which indicates that some things are going well and that with continued effort and some additional support from the central government, we can make even more progress,” he said.

Joanne Minns, the Canadian Ambassador to South Sudan, said the country needs a stronger financial commitment to expand school infrastructure, train teachers, and provide learning materials for students.

“It is clear what the benefits are for investment in education and the school; the local primary school is a great example of that. You can see the investments in the buildings; you can see the support for hygiene efforts, including toilets,” Joanne said.

“You can see the attention paid to children with disabilities to allow children across the country to be able to attend, particularly in Wau.”

She noted that many schools lack basic facilities such as classrooms, desks, and teaching materials, which continues to affect the quality of education.

“But the challenges are clear too; the classrooms are overcrowded, the teachers are undertrained, and the language skills that the ambassador referred to earlier are a clear challenge here, and it impacts the quality,” she said.

Joanne said investing in teachers is key to strengthening the country’s education system.

“We know education is important, but quality education is the most important thing, and without quality education, the investment is for nothing,” she said.

“You can definitely see the impacts of programs like the Girls’ Education for South Sudan program, and you can see where the Education for All program is going to be able to help as well.”

Improving the quality of education requires a strong partnership and contributions from the government of South Sudan, she stated.

“Donors can help, but the sustainability of South Sudan and its future lies in the ability of the government of South Sudan to really invest in its citizens, and health and education are the most important things to be able to do that.”

Noala Skinner, UNICEF Country Representative to South Sudan, stated that investing in a child’s education is a means of ensuring learners’ fundamental right to remain in school.

“I mean, investing in a child’s education, I mean, it’s that child’s fundamental right to have the right to go to school, but it’s not only right in principle; it’s right in practice, because the returns on investing in a child’s education, they’re almost unquantifiable,” said Skinner.

She mentioned that investing in education would provide learners with the skills necessary to enter the world and reach their full potential.

“We were talking to many children today who want to be pilots, who want to be governors, who want to be teachers, who want to be doctors. They have dreams, they have aspirations. Everywhere I go in South Sudan, it’s the same.”

She stated that children have dreams and aspirations, emphasising the importance of partners and the government supporting those dreams through effective systems.