An education activist in greater Kapoeta has urged the Nakabongole community in Kapoeta East County to support a school initiative in the area.
“The message that I can give to all the parents is to continue embracing the idea of having the school in their boma and send their children to school and every morning,” Daniel Lopidio told Singaita FM.
Located in Katodori Payam, Nakabongole Boma just established a school for the first ever.
The Nakabangole Under the Tree Education Center has registered 263 pupils, who will be taught by volunteers. The parents will be raising money to support the volunteers.
Lopidio, who is also the county education director for Kapoeta East, says it is only through education that the pastoralist community will undergo development.
He appealed to the parents to ensure that every learner attends classes on school day.
“They also need to support the teachers and the school management, because it’s the role of the parents to contribute both in kind and in cash to support the teachers who are in school,” he stated.
He added that he would engage education partners and the state government to help build the school.
Generally in South Sudan, more than 70% of the population above the age of 15 years is illiterate, majority of them are women, according to UNESCO.
In addition, UNICEF, says the world’s youngest country has the highest proportion of out-of-school children in the world, with 72 percent of primary-aged children out of school.
Experts blame the situation on the civil war, which resulted in interruption of learning and economic crisis, making it difficult for families to feed well their children.
In some areas in the country, WFP and UNICEF run school feeding programs – a motivation which keep children attending classes.
Other factors include poor education policies, particularly poor and irregular pay, which make teachers abandon the profession.