Students sitting for their examinations at Liech Basic School in Unity State. [© Gurtong]
By Luk Riek Nyak
BENTIU, 25 February 2010 (Gurtong) - The examinations that commenced on February 22 were conducted across the Sudan and had been prepared by the Sudan’s Ministry of Education in Khartoum and undertaken in all areas in the country, including the South.
Unity State is among the states in Sudan whose education system was greatly affected by the 2-decade civil war that ended in 2005 with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005.
After the signing of the peace deal, the education sector in South Sudan was given priority by the Government of Southern Sudan and has been gradually improving.
Last year Unity State emerged top among the South Sudanese states and was ranked sixth in the Sudan Leaving Certificate Examination, although basic schools in Bentiu have never been among the top in the examination results.
“Last year teaching in schools did not run smoothly for close to a month due to tensions that occurred in October. Many residents fled their homes hence pupils could not go to school”, said the Director for General Education and acting Director General in the State Ministry of Education Wicyai Dak.
He added that all counties in the state have secondary schools except Mayiendit County which hopes to have one this year.
“The pupils have performed well in the past but their performance has gone down this year. I have always encouraged them to read hard even though the syllabi were not fully covered”, said a parent Gor Paul Ngundeng.