Students from St. Kizito Primary School perform a song during a seminar on gender-based violence and the risks of early and forced marriage at their school in Juba on Friday, October 25, 2024. — Courtesy

The Minister of General Education and Instruction, Kuyok Abol Kuyok, has revealed that 8,000 girls who completed their primary education in 2020 were unable to finish their secondary education.

The minister said the girls were expected to sit for their Certificate of Secondary Education exams in 2024, but dropped out along the way.

This revelation comes as the Ministry officially released the 2024 Certificate of Secondary Education results on Wednesday after nearly eight months of delay.

Speaking during the announcement, Minister Kuyok described the dropout as a serious issue that must be urgently addressed.

“It appears that a significant proportion of girls that completed primary education in 2020, and we expected them to sit this year, about 8,000 of them, were not able to sit the exams, which means, which indicates a huge dropout for girls as they transition to secondary education,” he said.

He said the Ministry will commit to putting in place new policies aimed at supporting girls to stay in school and complete secondary education.

“Her Excellency Josephine Joseph Lagu, the Vice President and the Chairperson of Science Service Delivery Cluster, yesterday when we went to present the results to her, she committed the government to continue to support the ministry’s policies and priorities in strengthening teacher training programmes and recruitment of teachers in order to provide quality education,” he said.

The minister said tackling dropout rates, especially among girls, will involve investing in teacher training, recruitment, and improving access to quality education across the country.