Two thousand candidates have started their primary leaving examinations yesterday in Eastern Equatoria.
The state minister for education, science and technology, Michael Lopuke Lotyam, said that about 577 of the candidates are girls while 1423 are boys, Radio Emmanuel reported.He explained that the exams last for three days.
This year’s primary leaving examinations candidates double last year’s figures: in 2010 there were 1,049 candidates and in 2011 they reached 2,000.
He said the government also increased examination centres from 16 last year to 23 this year.
The minister attributes the progress to the efforts made by the state government to ensure enrollment and retention of pupils at schools.
Mr. Lopuke expressed worries that the large number of the primary school leaving candidates will pose problems of accommodation in secondary schools.
He stressed that the state government needs to increase the current 23 operational secondary schools in order to ensure the continuity of education for the large number of students.