Over 33,000 South Sudanese teachers to receive incentive under EU-funded project

JUBA – Over 33,000 primary school teachers in South Sudan will each receive 52 U.S dollars under the OUTREACH project funded by the European Union.

Awut Deng Acuil, the Minister for General Education and Instruction, expressed her appreciation for the support from the EU partners.

“I am extremely grateful to the European Union for extending this support to all of our primary school teachers. The incentives have gone a long way to enable us to reopen schools in May 2021,” Deng said in a statement issued on Tuesday.

Teaching is one of the least paid jobs in South Sudan. Due to inflation, salaries have become unstable.

The impacts of Covid-19 have worsened the challenges for teachers, as the majority of teachers have not received their salaries for months.

Without teachers to support schools to reopen, further learning losses may be experienced, with more school dropouts in 2021, according to Wim Vandenbroucke, Head of Cooperation to the EU Delegation to South Sudan.

“COVID-19 had serious consequences on access to schools and education for South Sudanese children, affecting their opportunity and ability to learn,” Wim said.

The EU stresses the importance of keeping schools running, and reaffirmed its readiness to extend its support to pay incentives nation-wide with a further one-time payment, Wim added.

“The EU is particularly thankful to teachers who, despite sometimes challenging working conditions, continue to educate the children of South Sudan.”

Jesper Moller, UNICEF Deputy Representative of Programmes said this incentive payment will attract the teachers to be in classrooms to facilitate quality learning for students.

“As we know, going to school is so much more than academic learning. It is also protection from harmful cultural practices and an access point for other services, including food. Schools are a safety net for children,” Moller said.

“For some children, school is also a place to meet friends and feel free to be a child. We must keep teachers in schools effectively teaching and students learning both inside and outside of the classrooms.”