Education officials from eight payams and County departments in Aweil East North, Northern Bahr el Ghazal state, are being trained to manage school funds effectively.

The three-day workshop is organized by the County education office and the NGO, Save the Children.

County Education Director Dominic Ajith Wieu says the 28 trainees are being shown how to manage schools funds donated by the UK government.

“Our aim is to be able to manage funds in a transparent manner because money has been donated for the schools; there is a school renovation grant and incentives to send girls to school,” said Mr Wieu.

“Girls from primary five to eight will get a form, the chief will sign it and they will get that money in August or September. That is why we want to know, so that when the money comes, it will go to targeted groups without anything missing.”

The facilitator, Andera Anei Achien, says they are training the education officials to use financial forms to make sure that the money is used as planned.

“I told them that there will be accountability: internal auditors will come to check the cash and expenses because sometimes the teacher can write and say ‘you give this amount and when we come you can reimburse that’,” he explained.

“If there is no document, we told them to refrain from doing this because people will be arrested if auditors find out that there is mismanagement of funds.”

The workshop ends today.