The institution recorded an impressive overall performance of 85.2 percent, followed by Darling Wisdom Academy (Pentagon) in Juba, with 85.1 percent and Star Academy School of Jonglei State coming third, with 83.7 percent.
By Aguok Chok
Amazing Grace High School in Jonglei State has been ranked as the best-performing school in the country in the long-awaited 2024 South Sudan Certificate of Secondary Education (SSCSE) examination announced yesterday.
The institution recorded an impressive overall performance of 85.2 percent, followed by Darling Wisdom Academy (Pentagon) in Juba, with 85.1 percent and Star Academy School of Jonglei State coming third, with 83.7 percent.
Announcing the results, the Minister of General Education and Instruction, Dr. Koyuk Abol Koyuk, said the release of the results had been delayed due to financial and logistical challenges.
He apologized to parents, candidates, and the entire nation, assuring that such delays would not happen again.
“This delay has caused a lot of problems for all of us, so I want to apologize really to the parents, to the candidates and the entire country, and I assure you this will not happen again,” said Dr. Koyuk.
He congratulated the schools, teachers, and students for their resilience and dedication, saying the achievement was the result of collective efforts across the education sector.
“Our evaluators had to walk through rivers and streams and swamps to ensure that every candidate had the opportunity to attempt her or his examination papers,” the Minister added.
Dr. Koyuk also praised the top ten schools, which include St. Lawrence Academy (83.7 percent), Green Belt Academy Secondary School (82.7 percent), Daniel Comboni Secondary School (82.6 percent), Greenbet Academy in Jonglei (82.6 percent), Brilliant Academy Secondary School (82.3 percent), Darling Wisdom Academy – Glasgow Campus (82.1 percent), King’s Secondary School (81.9 percent), Blue Nile Secondary School (81.5 percent), Green Hill Secondary School (81.2 percent), St. Bakhita Girls Secondary School (81.2 percent), and Amonto Girls Secondary School (81.1 percent).
The top student nationwide was announced as Philip Manyok Ayuen Abeny from Greenbet Secondary Private School in Jonglei State, who scored 91.6 percent.
He was followed by Murey Anthony Duku Toe, a female student from Haven High School with 91.4 percent, while several other candidates tied at 90 percent from different schools.
The Minister emphasized the government’s investment in education, particularly in promoting girls’ education, which has shown positive results.
“We have equally witnessed the significant strides made by girls in this year’s CSEs. This is attributable to the general’s investment of our government in education and clearly directed by His Excellency, the President in 2022, to prioritize girls’ education,” Dr. Koyuk noted.
The examinations were administered to 48,879 candidates from across the country, including 29,353 male and 20,651 female students. Out of these, 36,701 candidates passed, representing a 76.3 percent pass rate, while 11,778 students, about 23.7 percent, were unsuccessful.
Subject performance analysis revealed that chemistry, principles of accounts, and Arabic language were the poorest performed subjects, while students excelled in agriculture, computer science, physics, Islamic religion, English literature, and citizenship.
To address weak areas, the Ministry pledged to recruit and train more teachers in chemistry, principles of accounts, and Arabic language.
The Chair of the Specialized Committee on General Education and Instruction in the Transitional National Legislative Assembly, Hon. Sandra Bona Malual, congratulated the successful students and encouraged those who did not pass to remain hopeful.
“To the students, your results are a reflection of your hard work and resilience. And for those who didn’t make it in these exams, keep believing in yourselves and aim higher next time because the best is yet to come,” she encouraged.
She also apologized on behalf of the oversight committee for the delay in releasing the results.
“It is not purposely done, but it was just due to circumstances and situations beyond our control as the ministry, as the oversight committee or as the leadership of this country. So we apologize for any delay that might have hurt you as parents or as the people who were expecting to have their results,” she said.
The Secretary General of the National Examination Council, Simon Nyok Deng, explained the strategy being put in place to avoid future delays.
“As you heard from the statement of the Minister, we are putting in place strategies to avoid such scenarios from happening again. The agreement is that the collection of examination fees will form the foundation of the budget of the National Examination Council. This will cover almost half of the amount required to run examinations,” he clarified.
He added that with the new system, results could be processed and released within a shorter timeframe, provided resources are made available.
The Ministry also introduced a digital platform for candidates to check their results.
“Members of the public and candidates are advised to obtain the official results from the schools where the students wrote their examinations. Alternatively, they can use the result check application by dialing *113# followed by their index number,” announced Dr. Koyuk.
The ceremony ended with congratulations to the best schools, teachers, and candidates, with Amazing Grace High School and Philip Manyok Ayuen Abeny taking the spotlight as symbols of hard work, resilience, and academic excellence.
As the nation celebrated these results, the Minister reminded the Council and the public that education remains a shared responsibility.
“The release and the process of examination, were through efforts from many people. Without the support of His Excellency the Vice President and the Minister of Finance, we would have been struggling until today,” Dr. Koyuk concluded.
With the top schools recognized and the best students celebrated, the release of the 2024 SSCSE results marked a proud moment for South Sudan’s education system as the stakeholders promised reforms to ensure timely release in the future.
Impact on scholarships
Meanwhile, the Minister of Higher Education, Hon. Madut Biar, congratulated the students, parents, and educators on the release of the long-awaited results. The minister acknowledged the crucial role general education plays in shaping the future of higher learning in the country.
“This is the day the people of South Sudan have been waiting for,” said Madut. “And in particular, it is a day of significance for the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology, which has been under pressure to meet deadlines from universities and scholarship donors.”
Madut acknowledged the delay in releasing the results, noting its potential impact on scholarship opportunities for South Sudanese students abroad. “One of our partner countries offering scholarships gave us a strict condition- that they needed these national results to finalize admissions.
“We were genuinely worried we might miss out,” he said.
Speaking during the official announcement of the 2024-2025 examination results, Minister Madut extended warm congratulations to the Honourable Minister of General Education and Instruction and their entire team for what he described as “an important day, eagerly awaited by all South Sudanese and our partners beyond.”