Students in Juba PoC1 will join their colleagues in the rest of the country to sit for the forthcoming South Sudan Secondary School Certificate exam, according to the headmaster for Future Secondary School, one of three schools in the Juba UNMISS camps.
He says that 633 candidates will take part in the exam. Only 31 of the overall total are females. All of the student have taken index under the Unity State coordination office in Juba.
Mat and Agap Mission secondary schools are also offering the exam.
In 2015 only 175 candidates sat for third year at Mat Secondary School and the others schools did not have third year exams. Five of those students did not manage to pass to the next level of education.
The Deputy Head Teacher for Mat Secondary Gattiek Lam say the number of exam-takers has since increased significantly and most students are very committed.
Lam added that the school’s 21 teachers are working on voluntary bases because NGOs support education only at the primary level .
“We don’t have funds, children contribute small things for chalk,” he said, noting also that NGOs operating in the camps pay the amount needed by the government to provide exam papers.
When asked to comment on the status of education in the camp Lam said, “Education cannot wait,” adding that parents, teachers and the general public should exert more efforts for schools.
“Parent should not leave the children to teachers alone, they should teach them too at home, “he said.
The exam according to the yearly calendar of the Ministry of Education will start next Monday.