The President of South Sudan Salva Kiir Mayaardit has decried the low levels of education in the country

10 August 2011

JUBA, 9 August 2011 [Gurtong] – Speaking when he officially inaugurated the South Sudan Legislative Assembly at Nyakuron Cultural Centre in Juba on Monday, 8 August 2001, President Kiir said announced plans to revamp the country’s dilapidated education sector within the first 100 days of his administration.

“Education remains a major challenge as only a minority of our children in has access to education. It is even worse when it comes to girl’s education”, said Kiir.

“There is a need to scale up education enrolment quickly all over the country. To demonstrate our seriousness, within the first 100 days of the new government, 30 new primary schools and four new secondary schools will be constructed”, announced the President.

He also revealed that a Teachers Training Development Program that aims at training 7,000 teachers in the next three to five years will be launched, with the help of development partners.

“We are going to build higher education institutions in the coming years. We cannot afford to lose our next generation of leaders because of low education levels”, said President Kiir.

South Sudan suffered decades of civil war that ruined the education sector, making it a critical challenge in the development of the new state that is in dire need of skilled manpower.

Last month the South Sudan Education Minister told Gurtong that illiteracy rate in the new state stands at 73 percent out of the estimated 10 million inhabitants.
http://www.gurtong.net/ECM/Editorial/tabid/124/ID/5560/Default.aspx

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PaanLuel Wël is the founder and editor-in-chief of PaanLuel Wël Media Ltd, a news website that covers news, opinions, analysis, history, culture and literature of South Sudan and the world. Founded in July 2011 by PaanLuel Wël to create a platform for free expression and constructive dialogue, the website features articles from various contributors, including columnists, commentators, poets, authors, activists and academics. PaanLuel Wël believes that media can play a vital role in informing, educating and empowering the people to participate in nation-building and social transformation. He also believes that media can foster a culture of dialogue, tolerance and diversity among different communities and groups, and hopes to inspire and mentor the next generation of South Sudanese writers and journalists.

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