Over 300 students did not sit for their Secondary School examinations in South Sudan’s Malakal County this year owing to recent conflict in the area, according to the State Minister of Education.

Fighting broke out last week within Malakal town between different units of government troops and allied militias resulting in dozens of casualties of both pro-government troops and civilians. Many families sheltered in the UN base in fear of their lives.

Minister William Pur Tut told Radio Tamazuj on Tuesday that the insecurity and lack of government employees in the county has negatively affected the students. He called on the National Ministry of Education and Instruction to give another chance for the students to sit for the exams.

Meanwhile, Elia Bona, Director General at the Upper Nile Ministry of Education confirmed that the examination papers had arrived in Upper Nile since Tuesday. He added they papers were only distributed to secure areas.

Eligible candidates at Wau Shilluk, Kodok and Malakal areas didn’t sit for the exams due to the insecurity, according to the state official.

Bona pointed out that the National Minister requested the papers to be returned back to the capital Juba after they had been handed over to UN security officials in Malakal.

He revealed that the Ministry promised to reprint the exams papers for those who failed to sit in those areas. Students in Melut, Renk, and Maban counties are now sitting for examinations that kicked off on Monday, according to the director general.

File photo: A trader sells books at the Malakal PoC site, 5 Sept. 2014 (UNMISS)