Teachers and senior education officials in charge of the girls’ education fund in Yei have traded accusations over corruption regarding the distribution of money to help needy girls stay in school in the area.

Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Thursday, Sambala Moses, a focal person for the girls’ education program in Yei admitted that the fund which targets girls in primary and secondary schools has been marred with corruption.

“In Yei County the girls who were validated to receive this money, 1,937 beneficiaries who are to benefit from the last year’s pay, when we were preparing to pay the girls, the teachers printed for us the pay list of last year and this year. A school with less than 20 girls produced a list of 60-70 girls,” said Moses.

According to Moses, the girls who did not get the money got angry and started causing chaos at Jigomoni Primary School compound.

Emmanuel Sebit, Director for Yei River County Education Department also admitted the high level of corruption being practiced in various schools in the county.

“The issue of corruption started sometimes back, when we go to schools to get statistics, we are given low numbers but when it comes to money, we are given a huge number of learners. It is a bad practice,” said Sebit.

The education official further pointed out that some teachers deliberately deduct the amount meant for each pupil. “I also learnt that some teachers deduct the pupil’s money secretly. I wanted to see that some corrupt teachers are arrested and face the law accordingly,” he said.

A pupil at Jigomoni Primary School who preferred anonymity told Radio Tamazuj that some of the teachers had replaced the names of the beneficiaries with that of their children.

“Because of the economic situation some of the teachers and education officials cheat us by deleting our names from the payroll and replace them with their own girls, that’s why we ended up fighting the officials because they are not transparent to us,” she said.

For his part, Yei River state Acting Education Minister Jacob Aligo Lo-Ladu warned the education stakeholders against misappropriating the girls’ money. He said the government and its partners are working to improve the quality of girls’ education in South Sudan.

Aligo further said investigations will be opened and those found guilty will face immediate charges. “This program is meant to promote girls go to school and it must be transparently handled to achieve its objectives. We cannot allow anybody to confuse this program for personal gain. We cannot take this very light, “he stressed.

Some of the teachers admitted the allegations and pleaded guilty but blamed the girl’s education program officials in Yei for lack of information and timely communication towards the cash transfer project.

The Girl’s Education South Sudan (GESS) is a program aimed at promoting girl’s education in the country. According to the pay, a single school is entitled to receive 2, 500 SSP to motivate and support girls in the schools. The project started in 2013 and is funded by the people and the Government of United Kingdom. However, the project is expected to end in 2018.