CONTEXT
Decades of under-investment and years of civil war have left South Sudan with very limited educational opportunities, a shattered school infrastructure, and a lack of qualified teachers and basic learning materials.
Generations of South Sudanese people have gone without access to education and the country’s literacy rate is the world’s lowest at only 27%. Girls and women are among those who fare the worst in accessing education. Parents with very limited means will often prioritize boys’ education, while girls are kept at home to ensure their bride price. A girl in South Sudan is three times more likely to die in childbirth than she is to finish elementary school.
WHAT WE ARE DOING
Africa Educational Trust (AET), part of the Street Child group, is one of the longest standing education organizations in South Sudan, and one of the few which remained operational throughout the war. We have been able to work through periods of conflict and find opportunities to provide and improve education.
As part of Street Child AET continues to support access to education for children in the emergency context, including displaced children, girls, and children with disabilities; improve the quality of teaching and learning; strengthen parents’ and communities’ involvement in education; and provide recognized, non-formal education opportunities including adult literacy classes, enabling adults to access higher education and start small businesses.
The short video below unpacks the challenges girls have in accessing elementary school, and how AET / Street Child is addressing these barriers.
EDUCATION FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS
Women and girls have been systematically denied the chance of an education in South Sudan. Our initiatives increase girls’ access to formal education while also providing alternative pathways to education for women and girls who are not able to access the formal system. This includes accelerated high school qualifications for girls forced to drop out of school, financial support, and mentorship program providing emotional and practical support to get and keep girls in school.
TEACHER TRAINING FOR IMPROVED LEARNING
With such low rates of literacy there are few educated and qualified teachers in South Sudan. AET’s teacher training programs combine long-distance education with local mentorship so that teachers can upgrade their qualifications without having to relinquish their current teaching position. We are working in partnership with the Catholic University of Juba to develop their capacity to deliver this diploma.
ADULT LITERACY IN ENGLISH
South Sudan adopted English as its official language in 2011 for the purposes of trade and access to information, but English literacy rates remain low. AET’s ‘Speak Up!’ program brought English literacy to rural communities, enabling them to access higher education and start small businesses.