Creating Positive Social Change through Pastoral Education Initiative in South Sudan

Pastoral Education Initiative in South Sudan: A constructive approach to create positive social change among the pastoral communities

By Ustaz Abraham Mabior Rioc, Kuajok, Gogrial State

Thursday, September 19, 2019 (PW) — In his own words, one of the great world iconic statesmen Nelson Mandela had pointed out that “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world”. His popular quotation has been adopted and advanced far and wide by education actors and partners to encourage human kind to purse education exclusively. This is also in line with the commitment of the UN Agencies and other international organizations to posit that education promotes peaceful and inclusive societies as well as preventing conflicts and heals its consequences.

In the context of South Sudan, pastoral communities have been primarily depending on traditional subsistence farming activities for survival, which is discernibly of poor yield. Indeed, some of the pastoral communities in South Sudan include Nuer, Dinka, Murle, Mundari, Atuot, just to mention a few. 

However, the most striking examples with frequent communal conflicts include Tonj sections among themselves and with their neighboring states such as former unity, former westerner Bahr El Ghazal, and former Lakes states. In the same vein, communal conflicts extended to Twic state with cattle raiders from northern liech state, Aguok and Apuk in the recent years of confrontation which claimed hundreds of lives in Gogrial State as well as Murle versus Dinka Bor, Nuer versus Murle, and Dinka versus Bor, mention them.

In fact, some of these communities are occasionally on move during the spelt of dry season in search of pastures and water for their cattle. In the course of their movement and settlement in different places, it is obvious that violent conflicts could happen among themselves on the one hand, and with the host communities on the other hand.

In the same lines, most of the nomadic youth are so hostile and only believe in fighting and winning wars over the others. Presumably, the youth perceive the notion of fighting portrays their superiority, gallantry, and strengths over their opponents. As a result of frequent conflicts, loss of lives and destruction of property have sporadically become the order of the day in different parts of South Sudan. 

Per high rate of illiteracy in the country, it is now apparent that lack of an organized education system in form of Alternative Education System (AES) out of the mainstream system exacerbates a widespread illiteracy in the country because it is the major contributing factor to communal and tribal conflicts that have hit the country here and now.

I have always believed that most of the nomadic communities are not enlightened and sensitized about the importance of education and peaceful coexistence among themselves and with their hosts. Since the government is the sole provider of basic services (education as an inclusive precedence), my view is that if the nomadic communities are denied their right to basic education, it noticeably suggests that they are socially, culturally, economically, and professionally disconnected from the rest of the societies.

Conversely, economists and public commentators, of course, may agree with me from an economic point of view that most of the economic activities are detectably undermined by frequent communal conflicts. From social outlook, it may be noted that education remains the foundational base for producing informed and productive citizens. In reality, an all-inclusive education approach that considers pastoral education as an alternative means to reduce illiteracy in the country could be the best way forward.

On the positive part, education distinctively contributes to the acquisition of positive social impact at individual and community levels and from all spheres of life. In this sense, I am convinced that advancing competency-based curriculum that provides equal educational prospects for all is the only viable solution to be given due attention. Equally important, pastoral education initiative can be communicated across cultural lines with more focus to independent mindedness of the nomadic youths with regards to pursuit of professional knowledge and skills. Basically, this may meet the goalmouth of culturally responsive curriculum that respects and acknowledges the cultures of the nomadic communities and not to be contradiction with the national and legal laws.

On the other hand, advancing basic educational services at the rural settings in form of mobile schooling is more than reforming education agenda that can add a heavy weight to the attainment of literacy and numeracy goals at national level. It is equally important to note that pastoral education is the feasible alternative to disseminate the true meaning of the intellectual capital to the mindsets of the youth by enabling them to access knowledge and skills to become productive citizen. In so doing will heighten the educational reality that the more they are educated the more they can access vital messages and life-sustaining information for survival.

Though the functioning of the school-based learning approach is universally accepted in South Sudan to some extent as the mainstream education system, I still maintain that it largely ignores the mobile schooling strategy that can be applied to engage nomadic communities actively and constructively. In purely an inclusive term, education should be made accessible, affordable, and equitable in a non-discriminatory approach for all.

Despite the government commitment to implement universal education for all, however, the policy remains in principle because lacks practical implementation where mobile schooling for the nomadic communities could be incorporated to engaged and benefit them. Habitually, some of the country education partners and actors have been big-mouthing about the possibility of initiating and adopting mobile schooling initiative yet, no success has been concretely attained.

Literally, these young graduates who are loitering here and there are resourceful in this regard as they could be recruited as teachers and administrators and substantially motivated to mastermind the teaching job. At this juncture, it may be admitted that the underutilized fresh graduates could be trained to use the most progressive methods available to impart knowledge to the beneficiaries for the common good of the country. This will also reduce the number of unemployed youths who are in these days vulnerable to recruitment to different armed groups fighting for their self-interests and promotion of their ideological egocentricities.

From the security-wise, pastoral education could also add a practical advantage to the improvement and adherence to national security laws that safeguard the country. Undeniably, failure to provide such learning opportunities will remain another threat to national security and may continue derailing peaceful settlements among themselves and the host communities due to heightening tribal conflicts. In my personal perspective, leaving out the pastoralists in the education system will remain a true-life threat to national economic development since most of them do not go by law. However, keeping them in the school settings within their vicinity will minimize cattle raiding and thefts per se.

In a different note, providing mobile schooling to the nomadic communities will create a clear and modern transitional learning process from herding cattle to adopting modern town life where citizens are engaged in non-violent activities. By furthering pastoral education, it may be admitted that educational outcomes as a result of these activities will substantially transform and shape community lives to be more civilized, constructive, and productive workforce that adds weight to national economic growth in a technologically-driven fashion.

On the other hand, viewing it from an angle of gender equality, girl education is factually disregarded at rural settings since girls are ostensibly considered to be the source of wealth in terms of pride price. In this respect, girls are the most marginalized of the marginalized since they are the ones to take care of the domestic chores within the cattle camp sites.

For obvious roles assigned to them, girls in particular have been on move from one place to another in search of water and food as well as clearing out the cow dungs from the camp yard. In fact, when educational opportunities are brought closer to their vicinity in form of mobile schooling, they will learn and benefit from key messages for building a sustainable life.

Though I conceded that government has initiated such learning opportunities, yet not implementable, intensifying awareness-raising campaigns at grassroots level and particularly in the cattle camps to enlighten them about the wider educational prospects. To this respect, I still insist that much has not been done adequately since transitioning nomadic youth from cattle camp life to modern town life has been long overdue. Though sensitizing them through the practical approach to impart knowledge per se, it needs to establish a bilateral understanding with the local leaders who are the immediate front-runners to whom they could pay more allegiance to than the central government.

In a similar vein, it requires the inclusion of bureaucratic education departments and their line ministries at both local and national levels for easy access and accomplishment of educational goals. Since there are diverse and dynamic nomadic communities across South Sudan, it should be wise to provide education uniformly, quantitatively, and qualitatively on the basis of their respective locations. This will definitely provide a conducive environment for young men and women to collectively think that education is the most effective tool to improve their lives socially, economically, and intellectually.

Viewing it from the perspectives of human rights domain, education is treated as a basic right to which everyone is entitled to including the nomadic youth. In fact, many of them still think that South Sudan has not gained independence since lack of educational opportunities for their children remain a major challenge. Although pastoral education activities seem less effective in this context, it is crucial for eradicating illiteracy.

In other words, it will shape their attitudes through instilling in their minds to adopt positive social values that encourage peaceful coexistence and socioeconomic transformation. Essentially, systematized pastoral education is a huge task to be accomplished but it is necessary for the government to take it as an action point to be organized and supported countrywide.

Due to its complexity and dimension, its implementation at given period time and space is not easy, but it may require and seek partnered cooperation from other education actors in the country to build and strengthen their coordinated synergies. At this juncture, offering and availing educational activities will keep them engaged and busy, hence, creating positive social impacts among themselves.

In a nutshell, capitalizing on pastoral education implies investing in human resource development for building sustainable and peaceful communities. In light of these factual outlooks, availing educational opportunities, recruiting teachers and medical services would liberate the nomadic youth from illiteracy, poverty, insecurity, and poor health conditions.

The author is a freelance writer, an aspiring educationist, a teacher by profession and training. He holds a master’s degree in Education in Emergencies (EiE) at the University of Juba, and a master’s degree in Comparative and Global Studies in Education and Development at the University of Hong Kong respectively. He is electronically reachable at mabiorrioc@gmail.com

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