The National Examinations Council of South Sudan has said the pupils who missed this year’s Primary Leaving Examinations will have to wait and sit their exams in the next session.
Authorities in the Unity State ministry of education confirmed that over 313 primary pupils missed sitting the final examinations because they were not registered and lacked index numbers.
The secretary-general of National Examinations Council, Simon Nyok, told Radio Tamazuj on Wednesday that the pupils who missed out were not registered because they are not qualified.
“They were not registered for exams and there was no emergency examination,” he said.
According to Nyok, those who missed the examinations will sit for it during the next examinations session but he declined to qualify when that would be.
The minister of education in Unity State, Stephen Tot Chieng, said the pupils who missed exams are ready to do the exam before the next session.
“Yesterday, we communicated with the secretary-general for examinations and they are always saying wait, wait, wait,” Minister Tot said. “The index numbers are being processed. It seems like they will sit before April.”
He added: “The timetable is yet to be out and even the timetable for senior examinations is not clear up to now.”
Tot said students from other states like Eastern and Western Equatoria, Lakes, and Upper Nile also missed out on the national exams.
“I think it is not only Unity State alone and some of those states who missed out will also join to sit the examinations,” he said. “I was in Juba 2 weeks ago and met the national education ministry undersecretary as well as the minister and the secretary-general for examinations. They were not clear to me on whether the delay is due to lack of a budget or something else.”
He encouraged the pupils who missed the exams to study and reassured them that they will surely sit the exams before the calendar of the school year starts on 4 April.