By Ngor Deng Matem
National Ministry of General Education and Instructions expressed commitment to empower teachers’ capacity through training with the aim of promoting quality education.
Speaking during girl-child education conference in Aweil, Awut Deng Achuil said her ministry has prioritized the training of teachers across the country to improve learning.
“There are resources to improve the capacity of teachers by providing training opportunities for teachers in the next three years in order to improve learning so that our children get quality education,” Awut revealed.
She further stated that every teacher will be given a test or an interview in order to qualify for the teaching job.
“We will place every teacher for an interview or test,” she noted.
According to the minister, aspirant teachers will be interviewed by those who teach in universities.
“We have university graduates who are supposed to teach in secondary schools because these are the right people to give quality,” the education minister underscored.
The education conference has also put emphasis on teachers screening for quality education provision.
In June this year, Lakes State education authorities administered a test to screen over 4000 both primary and secondary school teachers in the capital Rumbek to assess their qualifications to fit the government payroll.
Out of that number, at least 1,857 teachers reportedly failed the screening test.
However, some teachers, including administrators and head teachers, declined, saying the assessment should only be applied to volunteer teachers who do not have teaching skills and experience.
This prompted the state education authority to detain eight (8) primary school teachers arrested for boycotting the screening exercise in Yirol West County in June 2023.