Peter Reng Bak

South Sudan’s top student in the 2022-2023 Secondary School-Leaving Examination encourages students to put more effort into reading if they are to pass with good grades.

Peter Reng Bak scored 92.1% to become the best-performing student in the country in the results announced on Thursday.

Speaking to Eye Radio on Friday, Mr. Reng said the news of him beating all the candidates across the whole country came as a surprise.

The student at Promise College Secondary School in Western Bahr Ghazal State, however, said he was aiming for the top spot last year.

“Surprisingly, I just got it yesterday, and I was happy to be the first student countrywide, and I know it was my target,” he said.

“My message can only be to encourage the upcoming students to put more effort into reading. Reading is the only way out of ignorance and the road to achievement.”

“So, I am urging them wherever they are to read and emphasize more on the syllabus, and in the upcoming examination, they will do more.”

In the results released by the National Examination Council on Thursday, Eastern Equatoria emerged as the best-performing state with 2,524 candidates.

Central Equatoria State came second with 13,901 candidates while Northern Bahr el Ghazal took the third position with 2,997 candidates.

Lakes, Jonglei, Western Bahr el Ghazal, Warrap, Western Equatoria, and Unity States are in the 4^th, 5^th, 6^th, 7^th, 8^th, and 9^th positions respectively.

Abyei and, Pibor Administrative Areas are the least-performed regions in the exams.

During the long-awaited results of the 2022 Certificate of Secondary Education announced by NEC, 18 out of the top 20 students are from private schools in Central Equatoria State.