More than 454 pupils at Old Nation Primary School in Yuai town, Uror County, Jonglei State, are attending classes under trees because the school has no classrooms.
The school has been operating since 2023 without a single classroom, leaving pupils and teachers exposed to harsh weather conditions. The school also faces shortages of textbooks and other learning materials.
Thomas Bol, a teacher at the school, told Radio Tamazuj on Wednesday that teachers continue to work despite the difficult conditions, hoping for improvements in the learning environment.
“Children are learning under trees. Even textbooks are not enough, and learning materials, chalk, and pens, are also lacking. We are just trying to push on, knowing the situation in South Sudan,” he said. “We don’t give up because if we give up, our community will fall. No one can come and build our community for us.”
Bol appealed to the government and development partners to support the school with classrooms and essential learning materials.
Biel Lam Pech, caretaker commissioner of Uror County, said insecurity in the Lou Nuer areas has affected education infrastructure and disrupted plans to improve schools.
“Most of the schools are not in proper condition, including Old Nation Primary School. This is because the area is affected by the ongoing conflict in the Lou Nuer areas,” he said. “Our plans for schools have not been working because of this crisis. We are calling on the Jonglei State government and partners to help us provide proper structures for the pupils.”
Efforts to reach the caretaker minister of General Education and Instruction in Jonglei State for comment on the school’s challenges were unsuccessful.
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