Primary 7 pupils at Gettan Primary School in Wau County’s Kpaile Payam in Western Bahr el Ghazal State, on Wednesday, welcomed a delegation of volunteer teachers as part of a youth initiative to improve learning after years of academic decline in the county.
Dr. Mgbara Valentin Duku Uyaka, the founder of the initiative, explained that the project aims to train and encourage pupils to persevere in education as the key to success in life.
“Today [Wednesday], we are in Kpaile, specifically in Gettan, and the major purpose of our mission is to bring education closer to the community, and because we want to bring services to the rural areas,” he said.
For his part, Baptist Ugala, the school’s head teacher, lauded the effort, saying it will help boost pupils’ morale.
“What the teachers have done by coming to us is very good, our children did not have access to education, but now, they can speak English,” he said. “My message to the state ministry of education is for them to send us more teachers because we are only three teachers here.”
Peter Paul Abdallah, the chairperson of the School Parents’ Teachers Association (PTA), praised the initiative and said it is a positive step toward improving education.
Meanwhile, Paul Uwo Vonde, the payam education supervisor, said he hopes the primary 8 class will be opened next academic year at the school. He stressed that the development of education requires concerted efforts of all stakeholders.
“It is God that brought these people to us, and I am so happy to see them bringing us such an initiative that focuses on improving quality education in this payam,” he stated. “It is worth mentioning that the same initiative was implemented last month, during which the group organized an intensive teaching campaign for primary 8 candidates at Bessilia and Ngisa primary schools in preparation for the upcoming primary leaving examinations scheduled for next month.”