By Hou Akot Hou
The acting director general in Northern Bahr el Ghazal state ministry of general education has revealed that at least a total of 22 schools, both primary and secondary schools are operating under trees in the state.
Director General in the state ministry of general education, Peter Deng Deng in a phone interview, Monday told this paper that they have been working to renovate 40 schools which have been blown off by wind.
“I want to assure the public that 22 schools are working under trees in the state and we have managed to renovate about 40 schools such as Yargot secondary school in Aweil East County, Panthou secondary school among others. The mentioned schools were blown off by wind and they have been covered. Thanks to the partners that partnered with us,” said Deng.
He noted that they are working around the clock to ensure that the schools that are operating under trees are functional despite their working environment.
The education officer in the state however appealed to parents to send their children to school saying the president has ordered for free primary and secondary education and he doesn’t see any reason as to why some kids should be kept out of class.
“What I want to tell the public is that our people keep learners at home and I don’t know why they are doing this,” Deng questioned, adding that “It is made public that all schools are working without any money asked from the learners”.
“Kindly send all children to school despite the problems of lack of conducive learning environment,” he urged parents.
Mr. Deng underscored that apart from wind which blew off the iron sheets in some schools’ roofs, the reason of dilapidated schools is attributed to heavy flood last year which affected the schools and hardened the construction efforts.
The state education authorities appeal for support from their development partners such as the national and international organizations.