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The Good News about 2024 South Sudan National Examinations

The pupils and the students are very ready for exams. After having the experience of last year national exams, learners have no hope of anything else than their effort. They are reading each day. They are revising each day. Many learners, both in primary eight and S4 have formed small groups for discussions. They have understood education is not about passing exams through other means. One should pass through one’s personal effort. Passing through one’s effort will help one be confident. A learner who passes independently succeeds in every academic class.

After the civil war in 2013, school children had left working hard in school. They come to school but the aim is just to pass and be promoted to the next class. If evaluation is to be done right from 2014 to date, there won’t be many competent learners found in South Sudan compared to those other years. Learners are very relaxed and are only forced to study. Since they get means to pass, they don’t put any effort on their studies.

The 2024 candidates are different. Their hope is in themselves. They know they will pass by themselves. It is hard work that pays. They know it well. They won’t fail if they revise. They won’t fail if they pay attention to their teachers. They won’t fail if they only trust themselves. They won’t fail if they know exams are not from heaven. They can pass, why not! The same teachers who set the exams are the same teachers who teach them in the classrooms. I was shocked when my students failed the national exam paper which I set myself. I didn’t reveal anything to them, but I used the same syllabus book! I didn’t set anything I didn’t teach them. They fail because their focus was somewhere else. It is very good news that the candidates of 2024 are more focused and will pass with flying colours. Good luck 2024 candidates!

There will not be any rumours of examination malpractice this year! Praise the Lord for Hon Awut Deng. She is a very visionary leader. She knows the fact that a country sounds anywhere else because of its education system. Weaken the education system of any country, you have destroyed the country. Education matters a lot. It is what a visionary leader like Awut Deng shouldn’t joke with.

Hon Awut Deng deserves a gift for the 2023 examination. She tried her best to control the examination malpractice. She will always be praised for such a great record in history.
For years, examination period in South Sudan had been the best time for making good money. Some parents could buy exams for their children. I don’t know whether those parents knew the purpose of education. If they knew, they wouldn’t do such harm to their children. Education is not passing exams. Education is passing life. You can have the certificate, but are you able to face life?

It is great news that parents won’t buy exams for children again. Many parents have witnessed it themselves. They have the children with them who cannot write a letter for them despite being S4 leavers. They have their children who cannot make it in the next education level. Some of these parents have some of their children brought back from abroad because they couldn’t make it there. These parents too have learned that it is never good to have children who have no vision. These visionless children are now home doing nothing. They have no hope joining the university. Some of them have unplanned babies with them and the parents take the full responsibilities of them. These visionless children too are the ones grabbing things from people day and night. Thank God, those parents have now understood why children should pass by their own efforts.

Schools could collect money from the candidates to bribe the external supervisors. You are sent by the ministry, why should you be the one betraying the ministry? You are the school administrators who have fully understood what education means, why should you encourage examination malpractice? Do you think you love these learners? Definitely you don’t! You put first your interest than the interest of the learners. Some schools have been practicing it because they want their schools to sound big outside there. The external supervisors accept to destroy the nation by accepting bribes because they claim that the nation is not paying them their salary. They think the nation should pay them by them neglecting their duty.

Thank you, external supervisors for realising that you should preserve the pride of South Sudan. We will get more money when we have many educated individuals. These educated individuals will be job creators than job seekers. They will develop the nation. They will transform the nation. Money won’t be our problem. It is our problem now because we lack many educated individuals. We have so many people who have gone through education but they have not acquired the best education. Let’s strive for the best education in South Sudan.
Thank you, schools administrators for recalling your vision for education. You should focus on quality than quantity. You should promote competent based education. You should aim at establishing the best education in South Sudan. Your school sounding through cheating will not help the nation. Your aim should not be money. Money comes after quality. Just raise a standard. You will later have the money you need. See South Sudan. Don’t only see your school. May the Lord bless you for standing for education in South Sudan.

Another Good News is here! The teachers won’t answer for students anymore! It is unbelievable. Teachers had been in the examination rooms either to answer for students or to tell the students that the external supervisors were coming. Many teachers were caught red handed writing on the black board.

As teachers, how do you look at it? You are in the classroom for a year teaching the learners, why to write for them again? Were you trained to write exams or to teach the syllabus? You know very well exams are nothing without having knowledge. We assess to find out whether learners have learned or not. What have you been doing, really?

I find it very hard to forgive myself. I have been invigilating exams for years. I could always be in the examination room without any objective at all! I could not have any objective, I repeat! I don’t allow my students to cheat the other exams, why to allow them cheat the national exams? I only conclude I was very stupid. I was doing what could not make sense at all. Maybe I feared losing my job. Maybe I feared being beaten by the students. I remember I was threatened one time. Maybe I was scared standing alone. I attended a meeting one time and I was the only one in oppose.

Here I apologize to my nation. I am a trained teacher, but I ignored my duty. I can’t blame much the parents who buy exams for their children because they may not know what education means. I can’t also blame the external supervisors very much because they may not know the purpose of education too. I only blame myself and my fellow teachers. The students had been cheating in the examination room with a teacher standing, watching them.

I am happy that teachers will do only what they know is right in this 2024 national examination. They will help Hon Awut Deng control examination malpractice. They will make sure students don’t come with papers in the examination room. They will make sure students don’t bring phones to the examination rooms. They will not allow students to discuss exams as they had been doing. The Lord will continue to bless you, teachers for standing for the education in South Sudan.

I advise the ministry to mix invigilators. It is not good for the teachers of the same school to invigilate their own students. Exchanging invigilators will minimize favouritism. It will avoid the fight schools have for their schools to shine than others. One won’t cheat for a school which is not one’s. Humans are selfish. They envy any success going to others than themselves.

The 2024 South Sudan National examination will be the best national examination ever has been done in South Sudan. I thank Hon. Awut and her cabinet for making South Sudan’s education system meets the standard of the world education. I thank the parents for considering that their children should make it for themselves. I thank every national security man or woman who makes sure exams are not cheated. Lastly, I thank the schools administrators and teachers who put first the vision of education in South Sudan than their personal interests. Let’s be kind to the nation’s education.

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