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JUBA – Al-Wadi Newspaper
South Sudan’s Undersecretary in the Ministry of General Education and Instruction, Omot Okong Olok, has warned that declining literacy, numeracy, and communication skills among many secondary school and university students are the result of weak foundational learning during the early years of education, compounded by a severe shortage of qualified teachers—one of the most pressing challenges facing the country’s education sector.
Speaking during the launch of the PlayMatters project in Juba on Wednesday, Olok said that investing in foundational education is the key to reforming South Sudan’s education system and improving learning outcomes. According to Eye Radio, he emphasized that developing children’s basic literacy and numeracy skills should be a national priority if the country hopes to produce graduates capable of pursuing higher education and competing in the labor market.
Olok explained that South Sudan’s education system continues to face major challenges in ensuring that children acquire essential literacy and numeracy skills during the early grades, a weakness that later affects their academic performance in secondary schools and universities.
“We face a major challenge in achieving foundational learning in literacy and numeracy. If the PlayMatters project is implemented effectively, it will strengthen these essential skills because they represent the greatest challenge affecting our learners,” he said.
He noted that the problem is not limited to primary school pupils but extends to higher levels of education, with some students reaching secondary school—and even university—without mastering basic reading, speaking, and arithmetic skills.
“Some learners reach secondary school but cannot read properly or communicate effectively. Even simple counting remains a challenge for some of them. We hope this project will make a significant impact on improving foundational learning,” Olok added.
A Four-Year Initiative
The Undersecretary expressed optimism about the four-year PlayMatters initiative, which promotes active teaching and learning through play. He said the program has the potential to improve children’s literacy and numeracy, particularly during the critical early years of education.
The initiative focuses on modern, interactive teaching methods that encourage children to acquire foundational skills through practical and engaging learning experiences. Such approaches have been widely adopted in education systems seeking to improve the quality of primary education.
Olok said the success of the initiative would help establish a stronger educational foundation, leading to improved academic performance in later grades and reducing the widespread learning gaps experienced by students across the country.
Shortage of Qualified Teachers
Addressing the root causes of the education crisis, Olok attributed much of the problem to the persistent shortage of qualified teachers. He stressed that even the best-designed curriculum cannot deliver quality education without competent teachers to implement it in classrooms.
“The curriculum is well developed, but who will implement it? It is the teacher. That is where our challenge lies. We have many unqualified teachers who are currently teaching in our schools,” he said.
He explained that many of the country’s most experienced and qualified teachers have left the profession in recent years in search of better employment opportunities offering higher salaries and improved living conditions.
As a result, schools have lost a significant portion of their skilled workforce, while many remaining teachers lack adequate training or academic qualifications, directly affecting students’ learning outcomes.
“The most qualified teachers have left the schools in search of greener pastures. Those who remain are either unqualified or lack the qualifications that would enable them to secure other employment opportunities,” he added.
Call to Improve Teachers’ Welfare
Olok urged the government to take urgent steps to improve teachers’ welfare, describing teachers as the cornerstone of any successful education reform. He argued that retaining qualified educators requires competitive salaries, better working conditions, and clear opportunities for professional development.
He called on the government to increase teachers’ salaries, provide incentives, improve career advancement opportunities, and enhance both working and living conditions to make the teaching profession more attractive.
“The government must improve teachers’ conditions. It has to motivate them, increase their salaries, promote them, and improve both their working and living conditions. That is the only way to retain teachers in the profession,” he said.
He emphasized that investing in teachers is not merely an employment issue but a long-term investment in South Sudan’s human capital, noting that the quality of education is directly linked to the competence and stability of the teaching workforce.
Figures Highlight the Scale of the Crisis
Official statistics underscore the magnitude of the challenges facing South Sudan’s education sector. In November 2022, the Ministry of General Education and Instruction reported that 24,694 government-employed teachers were either unqualified or underqualified, highlighting a significant shortage of skilled personnel across public schools.
Education experts say these figures help explain the poor learning outcomes observed among students, particularly in literacy and numeracy, as the absence of qualified teachers has a lasting impact on children’s foundational learning.
Government Reform Efforts
As part of broader efforts to address the crisis, Vice President for the Service Cluster, Hussein Abdelbagi Akol, previously announced plans to assess teachers in government-run schools, remove unqualified teachers from the government payroll, and recruit qualified volunteer teachers to fill staffing gaps.
According to government officials, these measures are intended to improve the quality of education by ensuring that students are taught by competent and qualified educators, while addressing broader challenges related to education financing, school infrastructure, and teacher retention.
The success of these reforms, however, will depend largely on the government’s ability—together with its development partners—to secure adequate funding for teacher training, improve teachers’ welfare, and expand continuous professional development programs. Such efforts are considered essential to building an education system capable of meeting the needs of future generations and supporting South Sudan’s long-term development goals.
