Western Equatoria Primary Eight or P8 students have performed worse in this year’s final exams.
State Education Minister Pia Phillip Michael announced the results on Tuesday over the state radio.He told Anisa Radio on Wednesday that there has been a 18-percent decline in the performance of P8 pupils all over the state.
The minister said 1,868 pupils sat for the examinations and only 770 passed, a percentage of 41.2.
Mr Pia explained that many pupils did very bad at English and Mathematics, probably because most of the teachers in the upper level lack the expertise to teach the subjects.
He announced that the two best girls from each county would have secondary education free at Maridi Boarding Science Secondary School.
Mr Pia disclosed that the best schools were in Nzara County: Nzara Comboni School scored 100 percent pass and Nzara One had the top ten students.
The Minister urged parents to help their pupils to study at home, especially in Yambio where the results were poor.
Mr Pia blamed too much entertainment and night life for poor results in Yambio and other towns.