A coalition of civil society groups and lawmakers in South Sudan has accused the government of failing to meet its own legal commitment to fund education, placing millions of children at risk. The warning was issued in a formal communique at the conclusion of a two-day, high-level dialogue in the capital, Juba, which was presented to Vice President for services Cluster Josephine Joseph Lagu.
The two-day dialogue was conducted at Crown Hotel last Thursday.
The communique states that budget allocation for general education has fallen to just 2.7% of national expenditure for the current financial year, a sharp decline from 4.5% the previous year. This figure is drastically below the national legal requirement of at least 10% mandated by the country’s General Education Act of 2012.
Participants described a severe and systemic financing crisis crippling the sector. They noted that South Sudan’s education budget is now the lowest in East Africa, compared to a regional average of 11.9% for basic education, and falls far short of international benchmarks.
The communique highlights the collapse of direct funding to schools, known as capitation grants, which have not been paid since 2019. This failure has led to widespread infrastructure decay, operational breakdown, and a loss of public confidence in state schools. Furthermore, the policy of free and compulsory basic education is undermined by persistent indirect costs for families, effectively denying access to children from low-income households and worsening the out-of-school crisis affecting 2.8 million children.
Additional concerns raised include chronically low budget execution rates, frequently below 30%, which cause unpredictable salary payments for teachers and make planning at the school level impossible. Accountability mechanisms are reportedly under-resourced and coordination between government ministries is weak.
The communique urges the Vice President to champion immediate reforms and to present the pressing concerns directly to President Salva Kiir Mayardit. Key recommendations include issuing a public presidential directive to reaffirm the 10% funding pledge with a binding timeline, legally protecting education funds from being reallocated, and restoring capitation grants with a schedule to clear all arrears since 2020. It also calls for earmarking a specific percentage of national tax revenue directly for education to ensure predictable financing.
The dialogue was facilitated by the National Education Coalition, a network of over 200 local organisations. The final communique was witnessed by members of the Transitional National Legislative Assembly’s education committee, signalling parliamentary backing for the urgent calls to action.