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AWEIL - 7 Jan 2013

NBG basic exams held with low turnout of girls

Primary school examinations kicked off early last week in Northern Bahr al-Ghazal state. The will continue through Monday amid complaints from the state education authorities of low number of girls sitting for the exams this year.

Atem Biajo, the director-general of the ministry of education told Radio Tamazuj from Aweil town of Northern Bahr El-Ghazal state that exams started  2 January with the participation of 3855 pupils. Only 680 of the exam takers are girls.

Biajo said that the recent clashes on the border with East Darfur had no impact on the performance of the pupils in the border areas.

But he pointed to significant challenges in educating children in Northern Bahr al-Ghazal state, namely lack of qualified staff and teachers and curriculum, in addition to the steep decline in the number of female pupils sitting for the examinations compared to last year.

He pointed to the dropout of the girls from schools as a problem that needs sharp attention and a comprehensive solution.

“The number of girls sitting for the exams this year is only 680, which indicates that many have dropped out of schools and so I am urging the families to send them to school,” said Biajo.