By Nyariay Kic
Candidates Pupils and students It has been a long year, hasn’t it? Late nights, early mornings, parental pressure, hustles, and drawbacks; disappointments. You surely must be tired!
The half-hour period after the completion of the exam often reflects a student’s attitude towards education. We will witness those who flee home immediately as though they wouldn’t step back in any academic institution in the near future ever again, then the ones who will spend these thirty minutes distributing all their scholastic materials. I thank God for such kindhearted learners. Then those who are desperate to make the day memorial, usually by taking selfies and jubilating as though the results were released that very day alongside completing exams.
Learners find and take the examination period as tiring and frustrating. And I truly concur; this episode is a stressful one. During this self-sacrificial period, learners often pledge to their desires; they comfort themselves with the hope of later doing whatever they wish to do but couldn’t while in school. I recall in one of the afternoons, I was engaged in an intense conversation with four primary eight pupils. Three of them were boys and the fourth was a girl. They seemed so excited having completed their nationals. Before departing after their final paper, they didn’t hesitate to share their future passions with me. The first one said, “Now that I have finally completed my exams, I will laze like never before: sleep and party stresslessly.” The second one added, “Make money as well.” Then later came in the third that gripped my attention. He, visionary, stated, “For my case, I am going back to the village and plough my father’s garden in preparation for the next level.” Lastly came in the girl; I don’t really understand why she had to wait for the boys first to speak out; could she have believed in women’s inferiority? The culture that demands women to stay silent as men talk? “My father will decide what happens next,” she submissively uttered.
I might not know who this piece of writing lies before at the moment; perhaps you could be a parent, a teacher, or even a student yourself, specifically a fresh primary or high school graduate reading. I would like to express my appreciation to our parents, who remind their children of their origin daily and expose them to what they need to make a change. Look at the third pupil in the conversation, who gently realized and recognized that he had to work for the future to bring in change in his life, his family’s, and also the village’s by introducing the modern farming skills he learnt while schooling in an urban sector. The thoughts of your children are what you make known to them.
Not forgetting our teachers in the classrooms who are tirelessly investing in our children and instilling in them values that are significant for not only academic excellence but also to aim them into living a purposeful life ahead. King Solomon asked God to help him in faithfully administering unto the children of Israel, and in return, God abundantly instead added him the knowledge that no man to date has begotten. I believe as you faithfully educate the young minds, your reward is at hand.
To my fellow learners in their distinctive levels and institutions in the academic journey, we all go to school and sit for that exam. However, at the break of the engine, we will find ourselves in different landing sites. Some like the girl in the conversation don’t even know why they study.
You should not study for anyone. I am not meaning do not listen to what parents tell you; I am simply urging you to study not because you are told but rather with goals in your heart. Take education as a bridge to whatever dream you aspire to. Making money isn’t a goal one should seek education for. Money is here today and gone tomorrow; otherwise, why would employers be paid monthly? The second child in the conversation, together with the first one, was only after pleasures, which I don’t recommend. Remember, Adam and Eve were expelled from Eden for choosing pleasure to be wise rather than following God’s instruction.
South Sudan is ranked amongst the top ten worldwide countries with low literacy, as evidenced by a 70% illiteracy rate. Isn’t that so sad? It’s not because we totally lack schools; the government is thriving each day, extending schools nationwide. It’s not even because we don’t attend school; many of us do attend school.
However, where do we land at the end of the journey? Don’t blame the situation; no matter how hard the economy is, the lion can never eat grass. Can’t we be like the lion by not losing to the unfortunate circumstances we encounter? My young sister is cooking tea in the streets, and likewise, my brothers are joining gangs. What impact did you have on your family, community, and yourselves using the P8 or S4 certificate or whatever document you attained? Illiterate, we are taken at the end because we do not differ from them!
Let us vow to be different; only then can we be a generation working towards progress!