Development partners have contributed vehicles and office equipment to four states in South Sudan to kick start President Kiir’s 100 Days programme on education.
President Salva Kiir told the first sitting of the National Legislature last August that no country has ever achieved development without education and pledged to build 30 primary school and four secondary schools during the first 100 days of his government.To help him achieve the goal, UNICEF and UKaid contributed four pick-up vehicles, five printers and ten photocopiers to the states of Upper Nile, Eastern Equatoria, Warrap and Northern Bahr-el-Ghazal.
Yasmin Haque, the UNICEF director in South Sudan, said the initiative will reach more that 35 thousand children out of school.
Ms. Haque noted that a receptive school environment reduces the rate of school dropouts especially among girls.
The UNICEF communication department said Upper Nile, Eastern Equatoria, Warrap and Northern Bahr-el-Ghazal were chosen because they have a very low school enrolment and host a high number of returnees.
The minister for general education and instruction, Joseph Ukel Abango, said the growing population of South Sudan can only be catered for by increasing the number of well facilitated schools.