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By Emmanuel Garjiek
Three schools have been crowned winners of this year’s World Children’s Day inter-school debate competitions, a national event aimed at strengthening critical thinking, communication skills, empathy, and civic responsibility among young learners.
The debates were organized by the Ministry of General Education and Instruction in partnership with UNICEF, bringing together 18 schools nationwide—four nursery, six primary, and eight secondary—from government, community, and private institutions.In the nursery category, Juod Nursery School emerged victorious after defeating Munuki East Nursery School in the finals. St. Lawrence Primary School secured the top position in the primary category, overcoming Gudele East Primary School.
At the secondary level, St. Daniel Comboni Secondary School claimed first place ahead of Juba Day Secondary School.
This year’s competition tasked students with debating key issues affecting children across the country, including conflict, climate shocks, poverty, gender inequality, and their impact on access to education. The event also aimed to raise awareness in communities with high numbers of out-of-school children.South Sudan continues to face significant challenges in ensuring children’s access to quality education.
An estimated 2.8 million children—more than 60 percent of school-aged learners—remain out of school due to conflict, displacement, poverty, and the country’s weakened education infrastructure.With out-of-school children now exceeding those enrolled, the country is off track to meet Sustainable Devchildren. Southinfrastructure. Withenrollment4 (SDG4) on quality and inclusive education. Gross enrolment rates remain low across pre-primary, primary, and secondary levels, underscoring the urgent need for greater investment and targeted interventions.
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