Photo Credit| UNICEF

The Ministry of General Education and Instruction, together with Save the Children, UNICEF, UNESCO and other education partners, has launched the Africa Educate Her Campaign to keep girls in school and improve completion rates.

The campaign was launched in Juba on Tuesday under the theme, “Keep girls in school, empower their futures.”

It aims to prevent girls from dropping out, improve retention and increase the number of girls completing their education.

Deputy Minister of General Education and Instruction Martin Tako Moyi said girls’ enrolment across South Sudan has increased by 10 percent, attributing the rise to government and partners’ efforts.

He also linked the increase to the presidential directive on free education. “We have an increment of 10 percent in girls’ enrollment in the whole country. This is coupled by the presidential order that gives education free,” Moyi said.

He described education as a key investment in South Sudan’s future. “Where we educate a girl, we educate a family. When we educate families, we strengthen the community. When communities are strong, our nation prospers,” Moyi said.

The campaign is part of a wider African initiative to protect girls’ right to education and address barriers that prevent them from staying in school, particularly during conflict, displacement and other emergencies.

Esther Nene, a student at Juba Diocese Secondary School, said poverty, child and forced marriage, cultural practices and limited access to schools remain major barriers to girls’ education.

A representative of the Transitional National Legislative Assembly’s Education Committee, Gabriel, called for an end to discrimination against girls in education.

“Education for a girl child is a right for a child and a pride for a family and nation,” Gabriel said.

He urged communities to support girls to develop and use their talents.

UNICEF representative Angela Travis said educating girls contributes to better health, delays early marriage and pregnancy, and increases women’s participation in the workforce.

“When girls are in school, they are more likely to be healthy, delay early marriage and early pregnancy, participate in the workforce, support their families, and contribute to peaceful and prosperous communities,” Travis said.

Education Coalition Commissioner Aduak Riak Yeil called on policymakers to ensure education policies are properly implemented.

“The children that you see in front of us, girls, are the teachers of tomorrow, are the ministers of tomorrow, are the leaders that you see behind us tomorrow, are the mothers that are able to make choices tomorrow,” Yeil said.

She said decision-makers have a responsibility to create conditions that allow girls to remain in school.

Education partners say the campaign will also support learning recovery programmes for children in remote, hard-to-reach and underserved communities.

They say investment in girls’ education is important for individual opportunities as well as peace, resilience and South Sudan’s long-term development.