South Sudan embarks on ambitious school text books project
New text books, partly paid for by British development aid, are to be given to every child at a primary school in South Sudan, if the current plans succeed.
Omoti Okony Olok, the national director for curriculum development, said the text books are printed in South Korea and have been transported through Mombasa, binded in Kampala and then transported into South Sudan.
At a cost of 16 million South Sudanese pounds, over 9.2 million copies of the new syllabus text books for both primary and Accelerated Learning Program (ALP) will be distributed alongside simple reading books and dictionaries. The programme targets all learners in South Sudan, a country with one of the world’s worst literacy rates, catering for both private and state schools.
Omoti Okony said the books are created so that all primary school children will have their own copy.
However, the plan has already faced some obstacles. Huub Gales who manages the distribution company transporting the books said some containers were held up in Kampala.
Containers loaded with textbooks destined for Lakes State and Western Bhar el-Ghazal State in Kampala.
On March 11, 42 containers holding approximately 1.8 million teaching books for Northern Bahr el-Ghazal and Warrap arrived, after being delayed for 12 days at the Nimule and Nesitu custom posts. The textbooks, teacher guides and other reading materials will be supplied to 1,122 primary schools and Accelerated Learning Program (ALP) centres in both States, according to a press release by Charles Kendall Consulting dated March 12.
In Northern Bahr el-Ghazal and Unity states, where poverty is widespread, Gales said some parents were talking of selling the new books to buy food for their families, arguing that the government has failed to protect the citizens and ensure enough food.
Distribution kicked off in Northern Bahr el-Ghazal state, where 98 primary schools and 39 Accelerated Learning Program (ALP) centres received textbooks and other reading materials, according to a press release by Charles Kendall Consulting.
The ambitious project needs to get underway ahead of rains expected in May, which typically make large parts of South Sudan inaccessible between June and November.
This is the first time in South Sudan that textbooks will be delivered to the schools or, if a school cannot be reached by road, to the nearby payams administrative offices in all ten states. The deliveries are expected to be completed in May 2013,” Peter Adwok Nyaba said.
The initiative by the South Sudan Ministry of General Education and Instruction is supported by the UK Government’s Department for International Development (DFID).
