The stage is set in Lakes Sate for the country’s first national inter-secondary school games for students from the ten states of South Sudan.
Lakes State Minister for Education Athian Majak Malou told Good News Radio on Tuesday during an evening live phone-in talk show that most participants from the other states had already arrived for the games.He said this is the first time students from secondary schools across South Sudan meet for a big sports event.
The ministers explained that Rumbek was chosen to host the games because the city boasts the first national secondary school in the country and the state occupies a central place in South Sudan.
Mr Malou said the games are running in seven football fields in three different counties, three basketball courts and volleyball and handball yards.
He said plans to host some matches in Cueibet were shelved for security reasons.
Mr Malou explained that the games are a special occasion for Lakes State to cast a positive image overshadowing inter-tribal conflicts and cattle rustling.
He appealed to residents to conduct themselves well during the games.
Mr Malou said the best athletes in the inter-secondary school national games will take part in a regional competition that is expected to take place in Burundi on August 20.
The national inter-school competition kicked off today and ends on Tuesday.