More than 700 students are taking their South Sudan Secondary School Certificate examinations at the UN camp in Juba.

They are among some 22,000 candidates across the country who began the exams on Monday morning.

This is the third time since 2013 that an exam is being taken at the UN base, where the candidates sought protection after the outbreak of the conflict.

One of the agencies that have been helping the students prepare for the exams, the Norwegian Refugee Council, said there were more than 100 teachers at the camp to teach the students.

Francis Peter Gatluak, who is the examinations’ coordinator for Unity state, encouraged the students to do their best despite the challenges that are facing them in the camp.

“I urge the students to be courageous in order to pass and go to the universities,” Mr Gatluak told Eye Radio.

Some of the candidates expressed their readiness to take their first paper.