School teachers in Wau town in Western Bahr el Ghazal State have called on parents to start registering children for next year’s academic year early.
Speaking during a farewell ceremony to end the 2023 academic year at the Ustaz Joseph Ukell Abango Nursery, Primary and Secondary School in Wau on Saturday, several teachers said sending pupils to schools early will allow them to learn promptly.
Uguak Agany Uguak, one of the teachers’ representatives, insisted that parents need to send their children back to school early next year.
“Let the mothers and fathers try their level best to register their children very early because this will allow children to learn the first lessons because if you register your child late, they will miss some lessons,” he said. “I want to tell you that supervising children’s school work is your responsibility as parents. If you registered your child at school, you have to monitor the lessons given to them at school.”
Uguak also asked parents to pay school fees promptly because Ustaz Joseph Ukell Abango School is a private entity that pays teachers and caters to other services using the fees.
For his part, the school’s principal, Samuel Gum Atem, pointed out the challenges the school faces.
“One of the challenges that we face is lack of support from the government and NGOs since this is a new school. The first challenge is lack of stationaries and other materials that can facilitate teaching,” he said. “Secondly, we lack sports equipment like balls and other materials for games, all these are things that keep learners busy during break time. When they do not have playing kits, sometimes pupils resort to fighting each other.”
Atem called on NGOs working for the side of education and government to support Abango School next year.
“We do not have lunch here at our school and you know human beings always need food otherwise hunger can force you into problems so I appeal for your help,” Gum added.
Meanwhile, the school’s director, Alfonse Peter Udera, urged parents to come to school whenever asked to by the school administration regarding the behavior of pupils.
“I want to tell you the guardians to come to school when called by the administration and if the school administration calls a guardian, this does not mean you are needed because you have not cleared school fees,” said Udera. “We have a lot of problems and maybe your child has done something wrong or is not attending classes and this is why we always need parents.”
On behalf of the parents, Majak Magok thanked the school administration for the good quality education they offer.
“Thank you so much. I thank you for teaching our children, Although Ukell Abango died, he has done something wonderful and his name will remain in history because what he has done is the future of our children,” he stated. “Let us continue supporting what he has left behind. I appreciate the teachers who teach our children and wish all of them the best. I have my children here and I am happy.”