Wednesday 24 March, Juba: The South Sudanese Ministry of General Education and Instructions has received over one million textbooks for both primary and secondary schools as part of a donation from International Education partners.
The first batch of over 1.12 million textbooks was handed over to heads of schools in Juba, as part of a program aimed at ensuring out-of-school children are able to learn in the country.
The textbooks will play a vital role in the teaching and learning process that gives every child the best possible opportunities for education.
The program, led by Save the Children in partnership with Norwegian Refugee Council, Finn Church Aid, and the Ministry of General Education and Instruction (MoGEI), and funded by the Education Cannot Wait (ECW) initiative, is one of the most wide-reaching education resourcing initiatives in South Sudan.
More than 1.5 million children – including 1,449,219 primary school pupils and 109,854 secondary school students – in 3,391 primary and 401 secondary schools in the six states of Eastern Equatoria, Lakes, Jonglei, Upper Nile, Unity and Warrap will benefit from the books.
Rama Hansraj, the Country Director of Save the Children in South Sudan, said: “Many children are not learning in South Sudan and one of the factors is that both learners and teachers do not have access to adequate reference materials, guides, or textbooks that they need to effectively facilitate quality teaching and learning.” He said.
“We believe that these 1.12 million textbooks will reduce the high pupil- textbook ratio thereby allowing more children to get access to textbooks.
“Thus, putting books in the hands of learners. These textbooks have come in handy at a time when social distancing is a key requirement to controlling the spread of COVID-19 – This means that with more books, we are able to reduce the number of children that come together to share a book,” he concludes.
The Minister of General Education and Instruction, Awut Deng, says her Ministry will ensure each school-going child gets a textbook.
“The availability of enough textbooks is going to be key to our preparation to reopening of schools this year,” she said.
The textbook ratio is expected to be reduced to 1:1 for secondary learners through the provision of 800 thousand books in South Sudan and for the primary schools, the ratio will be reduced significantly with the provision of 270 thousand books across the MYRP Supported States.
Globally, Save the Children and partners work to ensure that every child receives a good quality education and gains the skills and knowledge they need to thrive in the 21st century. Save the Children is committed to coordinating and working with all development partners to ensure that all children have access to safe, inclusive, and quality learning opportunities they need to realize their full potential.
