By Agar Mayor Gai-Makoon
Last year I listened to a BBC podcast, “Out of school, and qualified for nothing?’’. Evaluation results for their census on education had just been released. They indicated that 24%, nearly a quarter of people over the age of 16 have neither academic nor professional qualifications.
The 24% figure came down from 29% in 2011 according to the podcast. To me, this is a great achievement, I thought. The British government was able to bring down illiteracy by 5% in a very short time. They had other very reasonable figures too—32% of people have degrees or equivalent levels in education, and the remainder have either been through an apprenticeship or have another qualification.
But the three British panelists who are experts in the field of education were not very much happy with the census. The 24 unqualified percentage signals some deficit and that something is wrong with their education system. The 24% means school dropouts, non-enrolment or any other reason.
The secondary school leaving age for them is 16 years after which the young people can pursue their careers in higher institutions. And the fact that this census identifies such a huge percentage as having the required age but unqualified, is something that the British education system deplores to this day.
Why am I bringing all these? It is because South Sudan is in a very serious education serious. The words of the deputy Education minister last Friday are alarming. Though, the problem with our education system is felt and heard by everybody, Hon. Jacob Maiju just confirmed it and made sure every citizen hears about it. In his words, “Schools may shut down over unpaid teachers’ salaries”, the Hon. Deputy Minister has communicated two things.
First, he informs parents, guardians, school children, government and donor agencies that schools might become dysfunctional soon. This is a danger alert. Already, there is an estimated 2.8 million school-age children across the country who are not privileged to be in either primary or secondary schools according to UNICEF.
Shutting down schools would mean more children on streets, more early marriages, more gang groups in our cities and worse of all, a dark future for the country’s public service. When schools are functioning, there is always that hope of a new tomorrow—a future that has been in the past is always the best. Because, though studying under a broken education system, the best lesson students can learn is that they are not given enough. And they can know this only when they are not out of school.
The ministry has spoken, and it is left to the whole government and donor agencies to allow the shutdown or make sure the underlying reasons for the closure are lightened.
Secondly, the minister confirms that for so long now, teachers have not received salaries. The worst problem of public service is delayed payment of salaries. Because every problem of any service system starts with lack of money. When the salary is not enough, corruption grows. And when it is enough, but only in abstract or in figures, civil servants can choose to sit in their homes.
They can lay down their tools and watch where the government can hire professionals without pay. We can agree that there is both insufficient salary and delayed payment of this little salary to South Sudan civil servants. So, there is already a problem in the public service system. It has been there and this is why most public-school teachers are now in the private schools—for better pay so that their family needs are met. And it is the core reason for the ministry’s statement. I think, in other ways, the ministry just informs that in the coming months, all the government school teachers would be in the private sector.
The issue of private schools is that a bigger population is unable to afford to sponsor children there. Private schools are expensive, and this is why they are available and school enrolment for children keeps declining every year. And much as they have good services, private schools are not for every child but they are for every teacher.
The new minister of Finance and planning, Dr. Marial Dongrin has affirmed his commitment to regular and timely payment of salaries and to speeding up the budget process for the fiscal year 2024/2025.
These are critical issues but that promise is a good gesture for teachers if surely the minister fulfils them. Increasing salaries, and allocating more resources to critical sectors like education, health and agriculture in the new budget would baptize current problems with wins and success.
The writer has a background in Socio-political philosophy. He studies Medicine in Egypt.