By Yiep Joseph
Schools are warned against demanding fees in US dollars (USD).
Central Equatoria State Minister of General Education, Cirisio Zakaria Lado, has issued the warning while handover sports materials donated by JICA.
Minister Lado urged the public to report any schools violating the directive, saying that all school fees must be paid in South Sudanese Pounds (SSP).
“If the school is charging learners with dollars as fees within Central Equatoria state, it is wrong, and that is what we have ordered to stop,” he said.
“As parents start registration processes for children in school, please report those cases. We do not want our children to stay at home because we cannot afford fees,” he said.
He added that due to high charges, many children may drop out and join gang groups that continue to become a threat to residents.
“Those children that you are seeing on the streets, some of them dropped because of high fees as well as other problems,” he said.
The minister called on parents to ensure that all learners are enrolled in schools, adding that public primary and secondary are free as per the order of the president.
“From Monday we need all the children to be in school; we do not want children to be on the streets and in the houses,” he said.
On his part, Phawel Arama, who spoke on behalf of schools in the 3 blocks of Munuki, Kator, and Juba, expressed government commitment toward ensuring successful enrollment of learners.
He added that there are many challenges facing teachers, including delays in salaries that need the national government to quickly intervene.
In February 2023, President Salva Kiir instructed the Ministry of General Education and Instruction, plus other line institutions, to ensure primary and secondary education is free nationwide.
However, parents continue to report fee charges, stating that the collections are used as allowances for educators who have gone months without pay.
With the resumption of schools, some private institutions have begun demanding payment of school fees in U.S. dollars, citing the depreciation of the South Sudanese pound (SSP).
This decision has sparked an angry reaction from parents, who claim that their children will miss classes because they cannot afford the new fee structures.
In response, school owners argue that they are compelled to charge in dollars due to the ongoing depreciation that has severely impacted the market.
In 2021, the South Sudan Union of Private Schools urged the government to reconsider its order regulating private school fees, suggesting a cap of 80,000 South Sudanese pounds.
This plea followed a ministerial order from the Ministry of General Education, which banned all private schools from charging fees in U.S. dollars and mandated that annual fees not exceed 200,000 SSP for both day and boarding schools.