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South Sudan

UNESCO Partners with Africa Education Trust (AET) to Support Girls Education in Yambio and Nzara, South Sudan

Forty community girls schools (CGSs) are conducting classes for 525 girls and 429 boys in Yambio and Nzara counties (former Western Equatoria State) of South Sudan as part of a project on Out of School Children (OOSC) being implemented by UNESCO in partnership with GPE and UNICEF South Sudan. As the target was to enroll 1,000 students, the number of learners shows a 95.4% success rate. The organisation that is overseeing the teaching and learning in the 40 CGSs is Africa Education Trust (AET)

AET has employed 40 all-female teachers and has rented 40 learning centres to carry out the work. CGS teachers are recruited from the local community in order to encourage the attendance and enrollment of female students. Teachers remain with the same cohort of students from the moment they enter the first grade, throughout all the three years until completion, and therefore develop a close relationship with both students and their parents.

CGS classes have three hours of lesson time every day for five working days per week from Monday to Friday. Each lesson lasts for 40 minutes, with a 10 minutes break in between. The classes take place in the morning hours from 9.00 am to 12.00 p.m. The syllabus for the CGSs is a condensed version of the public primary school syllabus in that what would take four years in a public school is covered in three years in the CGSs, allowing the learners progress to Form 5 (second cycle primary) after three years of study instead of four. The subjects taught include English, mathematics, science, social studies, and Christian Religious Education.

The organisation reported that it will give training to the teachers, especially those in Nzara town, on the structure of the CGS curriculum. Lack of water points in some of the schools has been mentioned as a challenge as it creates problems of hygiene and drinking water.