Some parents in South Sudan’s capital Juba, are facing the dilemma of choosing between private or public schools for their children as the 2025 academic year approaches.
Whereas the high tuition fees in private schools is a burden, the quality of teaching in the public schools is a worry since the teachers often go for months without salaries.
In February 2023, President Salva Kiir instructed the Ministry of General Education and Instruction, plus other line institutions, to ensure primary and secondary education is free nationwide. However, most people have continued to enroll their children in private schools.
A father of one, Anthony Sebit, told Radio Tamazuj that the fees for his middle nursery section daughter had tripled.
He said that he paid SSP90,000 in 2024, but he figure has risen to SSP300,000 this year.
“My child is in the nursery section and now is going to middle class. I used to pay SSP90,000 but now it is SSP300,000 SSP. I can say it has tripled and is a big challenge indeed to me,” Sebit said.
He noted that with the current payment structure, it had become hard for him and other parents to continue in such a school.
“It is hard now to get that money. I even don’t know how I will continue with this school, since classes start on February 3,” he said.
When asked why some parents prefer sending their children to private schools, Sebit said it is because of the inadequate teaching in public schools, where teachers have gone for months without receiving their salaries.
“The government schools are okay, but we don’t trust the schools because the teachers are not paid. How do we expect these children to learn from somebody who has not been paid, somebody who has not eaten at his house?” he posed?
He further acknowledged that the situation was hard because of the economic crisis.
“We don’t blame the schools’ administration, we don’t blame the teachers, but we blame the people who are concerned in the government, because you don’t expect these people to be working and to be delivering excellent knowledge to the children yet they are not paid,” he said.
His sentiments were echoed by Zachariah Wani, another parent who also noted with concern the increase in school feels, saying it has been brought about by the current economic crisis in South Sudan.
Wani said the fees in the private schools ranged from SSP400,000 to SSP700, 000, with some even exceeding SSP1million.
“The reason why school fees have been increased this year is because the general budget is adjusted according to the market. The dollar rate is not stable. Every time it keeps on increasing,” Wani said.
A teacher at the St. Kizito Primary School, Emmanuel Bidal, attributed this year’s increase in fees to the high cost of living.
“Last year, the inflation caused it, because I remember it started in March or April, when the dollar rate started rising and which affected most of the teachers,” Bidal said.
He noted that the budget made before the schools closed in third term last year could no longer sustain the schools because of the inflation.
Bidal doubted the public schools’ ability to operate successfully if their capitation was not increased.
“I don’t think government schools are going to operate this year. The cost of living has become very high. So for them to continue, they have to revise their budgets,” he said.