The Jonglei State Ministry of General Education and Instruction has announced on Friday the establishment of 40 new government secondary schools, set to begin enrolling students in February to improve education access, although none currently have structures.
The establishment of 40 new secondary schools follows
community demands in the nine counties for local high school options.
Minister of General Education Gorden Koang said in an exclusive interview with Mingkaman FM that inadequacy
of secondary schools had hindered access to education, particularly for
families unable to afford sending children to towns.
“The new schools are being established in response to the overwhelming demand from communities where children finish primary school but are left without access to secondary education. This has been a critical issue for many families who do not have the resources to send their children to towns or other regions for schooling. These schools will open together with the old schools,” koang stated.
Newly established schools include Pagak Secondary in Duk
County, Maker Thiong Public in Bor County, and Akobo Girls’ Secondary in Akobo
County.
The new schools will begin operations by sharing space with
existing primary schools until the government can build their structures.
“It is the role of the government to bring the structures
and the teachers and for the community, theirs is to bring the children to
schools because we have free education. We don’t need anything from the
community only to provide the lands for the schools and also security of the
school,” Koang said.
Despite not paying the current education workforce,
including teachers, for months, Koang stated that the national Ministry of
General Education has allocated a budget to support the operations of the 40
new secondary schools.
He also mentioned that senior staff members in the ministry
will be promoted to headteachers to manage the new schools.
"We are going to hire 400 teachers to staff these
schools, this is a vital step in ensuring that the schools are properly staffed
and equipped to offer quality education to students,” he asserted.
He expressed hope that despite the ongoing economic crisis,
the new schools will operate effectively to meet educational needs. He also
urged parents to prepare their children for enrollment in February. Jonglei
State previously had 27 functioning secondary schools, both private and public,
and the addition of 40 new government schools brings the total to 67.
