William Ater Lual, the minister of education for Aweil East State says that that public awareness will help control schools dropouts in the state. 

Ater expects that if the communities know about the importance of education for the future of their children then they will help educators to make sure that their children remain at schools despite challenges. 

The education official made this comment upon his return from an education conference held in Juba last week. 

“There are many challenges facing schools in the state like many children are out of schools and it is my duty as a minister to make sure that some of these problems are improved with little resources we have in the state,” said Ater 

“Public awareness is important to educate the community about the importance of equal education for both boys and girls. Yes there are parents who keep girls at home and send only boys to schools which is not good because an educated girl does good things to her parents.”

“It is one of my priorities to make sure that parents allow their daughters to go to schools,” Ater stressed. 

William Ater Lual was named Aweil East State Minister of Education and acting minister of health by Governor Deng Deng Akuei in his first reshuffled of his new cabinet in June.

Photo: South Sudanese school boys in 2011 (Pulitzer Center/Cedric Gerbehaye)