Delayed teacher salaries, insecurity and a lack of infrastructure are crippling the education system in Morobo County, Central Equatoria State, local officials said.
The county’s director of education said years of conflict have left many schools vandalised, while ongoing insecurity continues to disrupt learning as families are repeatedly displaced.
“Most pupils are learning under trees,” Morobo County education director Moses Wani Frazer told Radio Tamazuj on Tuesday, adding that poor mobility and staff shortages have forced some schools to close.
Since fighting erupted in 2016, many school buildings have been damaged and never renovated, he said, leaving children without proper classrooms or learning materials.
Wani said the county education department is severely understaffed, with just two officials overseeing 22 schools.
“As I am talking to you now, we are only two in the office, myself and my deputy, running issues of 22 schools,” he said. “Teachers who are trained and working are not on the payroll and are treated as volunteers.”
Even those teachers who are paid face long delays in receiving salaries, he added, threatening the learning process.
“Those on the payroll experience delays in salaries that do not come regularly. As we speak, we are still receiving money for 2024,” Wani said. “This is one of the biggest challenges.”
He appealed to the government to provide learning materials and improve mobility for education officials, saying many pupils come from displaced families who cannot afford basic scholastic supplies.
“The learners are children of displaced people. Their parents cannot afford exercise books or other learning materials,” he said. “We were promised a vehicle to help with school inspections, but those were empty promises.”
Morobo County has 21 primary schools and one secondary school, all of which lack adequate infrastructure, teaching materials and qualified staff, according to education officials.
Continued insecurity in the area has left many children vulnerable to repeated displacement, further undermining access to education.