8th February 2025
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Delay in exams marking is systematic failure to prioritize education: Group

Author: Baria Johnson | Published: February 5, 2025

Pupils taking Certificate of 2021 Primary School Exams - Credit | Charles Wote/Eye Radio | Feb. 14, 2022

A civil society organization has called for immediate intervention regarding the financial challenges faced by the National Examination Council (NEC) which has delayed the marking of primary and secondary leaving examination papers for months.

NEC Secretary General Simon Nyok, confirmed on February 2 it was behind schedule in marking the 2024-2025 exams and warned that there would be no Senior One as schools reopen across the country with primary 8 pupils unsure of their results.

In a statement on February 4, Integrity South Sudan described the persistent complains by the examination council about lack of budget as a systematic failure by the government to prioritize education.

The advocacy organization said the underfunding hindering the marking of exams papers undermines education quality and limits opportunities for students.

The organization pointed out that the examination council has made repeated appeals for adequate and sustained funding of examination facilitation.

“NEC’s persistent complains about funding shortfalls reveals a systematic failure by the government to prioritize education and invest in the future of South Sudanese youth,” said the statement.

It called on the transitional government to immediately allocate sufficient funds to the National Examination Council to process the results.

At least 79,010 pupils including 35,700 are girls and 43,200 boys – sat for the Certificate of Primary Education (CPE) from 551 centers across South Sudan in November 2024.

This was followed by the Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE) exams where 50,000 candidates sat in 319 centers on December 2, amid logistical challenges in some states due to the widespread floods.

Last year, Vice President Hussein Abdelbagi called for inclusion of exams marking costs in the 2024-2025 fiscal year budget to avoid results delay after the education ministry took eight months to complete the marking of 2023-2024 SSCSE exams.

Abdelbagi said despite efforts to improve the education system, budget constraints have remained one of the institution’s biggest challenges in ensuring timely marking of national exams.

He said the Service Cluster under him had previously proposed and submitted education budgets to the parliament but added that they were not approved.

 

 

 

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