A coalition of civil society groups and lawmakers in South Sudan has lamented the government’s continued underfunding of education and its low commitment to meeting its own legal mandate. The government is failing to allocate “at least 10%” of the national budget to general education as required by the General Education Act of 2012, a failure that places millions of children at risk.
The concern was issued in a formal communiqué at the conclusion of a two-day, high-level dialogue in the capital, Juba. The document was presented to Vice President for the Service Cluster, Josephine Joseph Lagu.
The dialogue was held at the Crown Hotel from December 3rd to 4th, 2025.
The communiqué states that the budget allocation for general education fell to just 2.7% of national expenditure for the 2024/2025 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. This falls far short of not only the national benchmark but also international standards.
The communiqué 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 public 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 school-level planning impossible. Accountability mechanisms are reportedly under-resourced, and coordination between government ministries is weak.
The communiqué urges the Vice President to champion immediate reforms and to present these 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 reallocation, 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 and international organizations. The final communiqué was witnessed by members of the Transitional National Legislative Assembly’s education committee, signaling parliamentary backing for the urgent calls to action.