David Lowela (left), Director-General for Basic and Secondary Education at the national MoGEI and David Malish, GESS' Quality Education Trainer speak on Eye Radio's Dawn Show on Friday. March 31, 2023. | Photo: Awan Moses/Eye Radio.

The Girls’ Education South Sudan is encouraging parents to send their children back to school in the 2023-2024 academic year.

According to GESS, there has been a low enrollment and attendance in most schools across the country.

The low turnout of children to school this year remains unexplained.

The academic year 2023/2024 officially begun on February 6th, 2023.

GESS said parents, pupils and students should adhere to the new academic calendar – known as the post-Covid-19 calendar.

David Malish, GESS’ Quality Education Trainer, said both girls and boys should be allowed to report to school and be allowed equal study time.

“Parents should ensure that they send their children back to school. In fact on Monday all the children go to school,” he said while speaking on Eye Radio’s Dawn Show on Friday.

Malish also encouraged communities to help identify out-of-school children and support them to enroll.

“Learners should ensure that by Monday next week, they should be in school learning, and teachers should ensure that by Monday they should be ready in the schools teaching these learners.”

“Head teachers should ensure that they follow the class timetables to ensure learning takes place as expected.”

GESS is an inclusive programme that is transforming the lives of a generation of children in South Sudan – especially girls and those in the margins of society– through education.

Until July 2022, it supported more than 880,000 girls with cash transfers to help them overcome financial barriers to education by allowing them to purchase essential items such as uniforms, sanitary products, and transport.

Over 3,500 primary schools and 230 secondary schools received capitation grants to help supplement running costs and improve the learning environment for both girls and boys.

GESS is also leading change in the area of behavior change in the areas of girls’ education and disability inclusion

David Lowela Lodu is the Director-General for Basic and Secondary Education at the national Ministry of General Education and Instruction.

He called on parents, communities, county education directors and payam education supervisors to ensure children go back to school.

“Parents, partners, communities, let them try their level best to send their children to schools. I’m saying this because they are the right people to send their children to school.”

“In schools, if children are sent to school I’m sure they will be able to teach them, and I’m sure they will try their level best these two months that they have not been teaching, I’m sure they will cover up what they have not been taught and they will not have any problem.”

“I’m also saying this to county education directors, and payam education supervisors to tell the parents because they are nearer to the grassroots to send their children to schools.”

Last month, President Salva Kiir issued a directive state and national governments to comply with the constitutionally mandated free primary and secondary education in the country.

According the constitution as amended in 2011, education is the right of every citizen.

It stipulates that all levels of government must provide access to education without discrimination to religion, race, ethnicity, health status including HIV/AIDS, gender or disability.

And they must ensure free and compulsory education at primary and secondary levels.

However, despite the constitution granting these rights, there have been numerous reports of government schools charging fees on learners