The minister of general education for South Sudan’s Lakes State on Friday blamed the underperformance of public schools on teachers who have gone nearly two years without pay, after national exam results showed state schools failed to rank in the country’s top 10.
Nelson Makoi Makur said the salary delays have crippled teacher morale and commitment. While defending the open-admission policy of public schools, he acknowledged that the financial crisis is a primary factor in the system’s struggles.
“Salary delays in public schools is one of the factors giving teachers low commitments,” Makur said. “If salary comes, still the public schools can perform better.”
The recently released secondary education results showed that private schools in the state, including those in the capital, Rumbek, outperformed government-run institutions.
Makur argued that the comparison was unfair, as private schools can screen students and have smaller class sizes. He said public schools have a mandate to educate all citizens without restriction.
“We don’t block anybody,” Makur said. “We give them opportunity to try their best.”
He cited enrollment figures to illustrate the scale difference, noting that public schools like Panekar or Rumbek Secondary Schools often have 300 to 350 exam candidates, while private schools like Abukloi or La Selle church-based school may have only 50 each.
Despite the challenges, the minister promised a focus on “quality education,” which he defined as eliminating cheating and malpractice, not excluding students. He urged teachers to remain dedicated in the face of the economic crisis.
“This is a new country with challenges of economic recovery and we will improve to pay our teachers regularly,” Makur said, while making a direct appeal to the national government to release the overdue salaries.