David Lowila Ladu – the Director-General for Basic and Secondary Education speaks on Eye Radio's Dawn Show in Juba. Monday, January 22, 2024. (Photo: Awan Moses)

A senior official at the national Ministry of Education and Instruction is calling on community leaders to allocate land for public primary and secondary schools in the country.

David Lowila Ladu – the Director-General for Basic and Secondary Education said the allocation will help in addressing the high rate of children dropping out of school.

He said many of the Juba suburbs including Luri, Jebel Dinka, Jebel Yesua, Moroyok among others do not have government schools.

Mr Lowila added that when the plots are availed, the ministry can liaise with development partners to construct public school and encourage parents to send their children to schools.

“Government schools are only in Juba block, and there is not any government secondary school in Kator,” he said.

“If you go to Munuki, only two government secondary schools, go to Luri, go to all these areas all over Juba city, you will find that these are primary and secondary private schools, and then you see how they are (heavily) charging the parents who are not able to pay.”

“To community leaders, let them leave those empty places for schools, whether being primary of secondary, let them not sell out, let them be given to schools.”

In the 2022 Certificate of Primary Education examinations results, private schools performed better than the public schools.