At least twelve secondary school students in Western Bahr el Ghazal state, South Sudan, were unable to sit their Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE) examinations earlier this month due to logistical problems, an education official has said.
The state’s director of examinations, Donato Ugali Zambe, told Radio Tamazuj on Friday that while 3,394 students had been registered for the Senior Four exams, a dozen missed out “due to various circumstances”.
Zambe cited challenges including a lack of sufficient exam papers for subjects such as English, Geography and History at some centres in the state.
“This year’s exams faced some challenges, specifically when moving to nearby centres,” he said.
He advised that students in future years should be prepared well in advance.
Separately, Wau County reported that candidates had missed exams due to a post-conflict situation that has paralysed the local education system.
The coordinator of the civil society group, the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), called for accountability.
Stephen Robo Musa described the situation as an “unfortunate development”.
“This is the first of its kind for a national examination… I am calling for accountability as a first thing,” Musa said.
“Somebody must be held accountable… This should be a lesson for such a mistake,” he added.
South Sudan’s education system is struggling with chronic underfunding.
Last week, civil society groups and lawmakers in Juba accused the government of failing to meet its legal obligations.
They said the government has not allocated the minimum 10% of the national budget to general education as required under the 2012 General Education Act, a shortfall they warned puts millions of children at risk.