A new classroom block for the pupils of Owungasa Primary School in South Sudan’s Maridi state was on Friday handed over to the state government.

The classroom block was constructed by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) under its quick impact project

Handover of the project, implemented by Rural Development Action Aid (RDAA) in Landizima boma, was witnessed by several state government officials, UNMISS representatives and the community.

Speaking during the event, the state governor, Africano Mande urged parents to ensure their children benefit from Owungasa Primary School.

He, however, warned parents against allowing their children to go to discos, saying police would arrest any child found in night clubs.

Christopher Murenga, the head of the UNMISS field office in the Western Equatoria region, expressed gratitude that more than 40 percent of the pupils who are attending the primary school are girls.

“When you educate a girl, you empower the nation and making sure that girls have access to education actually helps in nation building,” said Murenga.

He added, “The state of Maridi will be more powerful, productive and more developed because there are more girls educated here”.

On his part, the state minister for education, Joseph Liya Damina appreciated the support provided by UNMISS, saying almost over 60 percent of challenges the school was facing have been addressed.

“We are very grateful for this support and we appreciate it,” he said.

This year, the minister said, the primary school has presented candidates for primary eight, completed the full cycle of education.

“Our appeal is that this generosity should continue and we build a good partnership,” stressed Damina.

Meanwhile, RDAA’s representative, Alex Ibiko said the classroom handover will enable pupils to have a learning space that is safe, friendly and conducive for learning purposes.

“These are key drivers to imparting good knowledge to pupils,” he said.

Ibiko also announced RDAA’s donation of 45 desks for pupils in the primary school.

A total of 634 pupils are attending the school, 277 of them are girls.