South Sudan national exams to be set by Khartoum for the next 3 years

Ministry Signs Agreement with Sudan for Certificate Examination

by Mary Ajith ǀ 21.10.2011

JUBA – The Ministry of General Education in the Republic of South Sudan has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Sudan Government stating that students are to be allowed to sit for Sudan School Certificate Examination and Khartoum is to set the exam for another three years giving South Sudan enough time to set its own exams.

This information was revealed by Joesph Ukel, the Minister of General Education while addressing the media at
his ministry. We had been to Khartoum and had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of General Education on the 17th of this month, said the minister. A joint agreement was made in which the students will carry on taking the Sudan School Examination that is the 2012 for an extended period of three years.

Although, South Sudan has its own locally based schools however,it is still not adequately prepared to set its own examination council or examination board etc; this is why it is currently using the Sudan Examination Council in Khartoum besides Ugandan’s curriculum for those students who were studying in Uganda.

Ukel said that the Ministry was given a timetable which had indicated that examination for 2012 will start on March 19th up to the 31st of the same month; there are 18,000 students who had already registered to sit for these examinations.   “The timetable for 2012 examination is currently with the Ministry together with 240 copies of students’ examination guideline. This will be sent to all the States of South Sudan to be distributed in the different schools,” he said.

Ukel added that the memorandum is strictly for the School Certificate Examination no any other policies involved.   “We did not have any other alternative for students sitting for Sudan Certificate and this  is why we use this available opportunity.  This does not mean that our students will continue to get their exams from Khartoum for longer
periods. No! Once we are ready we might not even need to have it for the full three years,” explained the Minister.

The Minister outlined that South Sudan has three different curricula, Sudan School Certificate, East Africa or Uganda curriculum and South Sudan Schools’ curriculum. He elaborated that for those students who are sitting for the Sudan School Certificate Examination, they will continue to take Khartoum exams next year while for other students who were not Khartoum based, they will be taking Uganda examinations and another set in South Sudan for this year
respectively.

“We shall also be sending South Sudanese teachers to Khartoum for training on how to correct exams and they will also be working closely with the Sudan Examination Council,”Ukel said.

One of the advantages of this agreement is the fact that the training would be supervised by South Sudanese teachers and once correction is done in Khartoum, then the certificate will be sent to South Sudan, unlike in the past where students were made to go to Khartoum for certificates’ collection.

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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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