Students in Akobo town in South Sudan’s Jonglei State staged a peaceful demonstration on Saturday, calling on authorities to ensure they can sit their national examinations amid uncertainty over arrangements for the tests.
The demonstration comes two days before Grade 8 examinations are scheduled to begin on Monday, November 16, with Grade 12 examinations due to start on November 23.
“We are children, not politicians,” the students said.
The Akobo Education Authority has appealed to the National Ministry of Education, education partners, civil society organisations and international agencies to intervene, warning that hundreds of candidates could miss the examinations if the necessary arrangements are not made.
In a letter addressed to the stakeholders and seen Radio Tamazuj, the authority said it had yet to secure the access and coordination arrangements required for candidates in the county to participate in the national examinations.
Peter Buom Reat, the education director of Akobo Education Authority, said delays in coordination among relevant authorities are threatening students’ academic prospects.
“The time remaining before the examinations is extremely short, yet the necessary arrangements have not been finalised,” the authority said in its appeal.
Political divisions
The authority suggested that political disagreements among officials could be contributing to the difficulties and urged stakeholders to keep education separate from political disputes.
Akobo County lies in eastern Jonglei State, near South Sudan’s border with Ethiopia. It is administered by the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO), rather than the government in Juba, a political and administrative division that can complicate coordination with national education authorities.
The authority called on international non-governmental organisations, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and other development partners to facilitate dialogue and help establish practical arrangements for the examinations.
It requested urgent engagement between education and examination officials, assistance in securing safe and timely access to examination materials, and clear communication channels to ensure candidates can sit the tests as scheduled.
The authority also urged stakeholders to resolve outstanding disagreements peacefully and ensure that students are not subjected to discrimination, intimidation or administrative delays.
With Grade 8 examinations due to begin on Monday, students and education officials are pressing for urgent intervention to prevent candidates in Akobo from missing the national examinations.
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