Students at the newly-opened Yabongo Girls Boarding School. [Gurtong/ Joseph Nashion]
By Joseph Nashion
YAMBIO, 03 June 2012 [Gurtong] - Yabongo Girls Boarding School that was inaugurated on 23 April 2012 is the first of its kind in the state and accommodates about 300 girls.
The school which was built through a partnership between the Government of Western Equatoria State and USAID is located 5 kilometres from Yambio along the Yambio- Nzara road.
The school’s headmaster William Fainde told Gurtong that the school has about 70 students in each class.
He said the boarding school will minimise the rampant dropout of girls from school and encouraged parents to send their children to the school.
“The State Ministry of Education has set minimum fees that all parents must meet before their children are admitted to the school”, he said.
Fainde added that the school gives priority to best performing girls in the state.
He revealed that the school also prioritises extra-curriculum activities, saying volleyball and netball courts have been constructed while plans are afoot for a football pitch.
The headmaster at the same time cited lack of mosquito nets and insufficient food supplies as the main challenges faced by the new school.