The project will be implemented by the Ministry of General Education and Instruction (MoGEI) in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Save the Children.

By Anak Dut

The South Sudan government and Global Partnership for Education (GPE) on Wednesday launched a four-year project to enhance access to high-quality and inclusive education for girls and marginalized communities on Wednesday.

The 58 million USD grant project from the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) will be implemented by the Ministry of General Education and Instruction (MoGEI) in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Save the Children.

Speaking at the event, the Vice President for Service Cluster, Josephine Joseph Lagu said education is everyone’s right and each child must have access to it.

“The education system in South Sudan is guided by a series of laws and policy documents, such as the Transitional Constitution General Education Act 2012 National Educational Policies, which all articulate education as a human right. Compulsory and free at the basic level,” she said.

According to her, a human rights-based approach pursues a vision of realizing the rights of every child, especially the most disadvantaged and responds to the call to leave no child behind so that the rights of every child everywhere will be fulfilled.

Ms. Lagu said there are an estimated 2.8 million children out of school, which she said is unacceptable.

“I understand that and although we have improved the budget for education, the national budget execution has not been optimal with the extreme economic and climatic shocks the country has been facing.”

She assured her support towards striving for better working spaces for teachers and better learning centers for every child in South Sudan.

“As the Vice President for Service Cluster and in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and Planning, I will continue to strive towards ensuring a full execution of allocated budget to the education sector,” Ms. Lagu asserted.

“It’s not just going to be allocation of budget on paper, no, it won’t. We will ensure that this allocation is translated and it reaches the school where it is needed and to the children who are the final beneficiaries.”

However, she emphasized the importance of investing in teachers, strengthening teachers’ management, recruitment, deployment, professional development and payroll to improve the equity and quality.

“I will continue to support the efforts by the Ministry of General Education and Instruction to improve teacher salaries and flow of resources to the county and school level as well as to improve equity, efficiency and accountability in the education sector,” Ms. Lagu said.

The project is expected to make a positive impact on girls and children with disabilities who are disproportionately affected by educational challenges, according to the Vice President.

“As the cluster responsible for education, health, and social protection, I understand the interconnectedness of these services. It is essential to address the needs of a hungry child, as we all were once children in school.”