Government schools in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State are facing teacher shortages after more than 200 teachers abandoned the profession for better paying jobs, a senior education official has said.
Santino Bol Akot, director general at the Ministry of Education, said the professionals left over the past one year.
“Those living outside town are the ones who deserted because some of them have certificates; they come to town and when they find jobs, they quit the teaching,” Bol told Akol Yam FM on Thursday.
Bol said the ministry learnt of the developments after it carried out an assessment aimed at ascertaining the total number of teachers in the field.
Currently, a teacher on the government payroll receives roughly 3,500 South Sudanese pounds per month – an amount equivalent to $3.1
In the humanitarian sector, a former teacher can get $100 per month as a janitor at some organizations, making it better than teaching job.
At private schools, a primary teacher gets around 40,000 Pounds, roughly $40.
“There are those who have found jobs with NGOs and those who joined the private schools,” Bol added.
The government plans to increase the salaries of the teachers as per the fiscal year budget 2023/2024, in which an increment of 400% was approved.
Even with the 400% pay rise, a teacher would still get as little as $14 per month, an amount which could not sustain a teacher, let alone his family, given the soaring market prices.