Africa-Press – South-Sudan. By William Madouk Garang
Anger raged Aweil community as the State Ministry of General Education and Instruction has shut down and withdrawn registration certificates from seven private schools for allegedly not adhering to the unified academic calendar.
This came after the Director-General of Northern Bahr el Ghazal State (NBGs) ministry of Education and Instruction (MoGEI) on Monday issued a cancellation of registration certificate memo to affected schools over flouting General Education Act 2012.
Director-General of MoGEI, Santino Bol Akot, claimed that schools closed their school calendar before the end of the academic year or prior to 30th January, and re-open before 4th of April which doesn’t’ comply with chapter seven of the General Education Act 2012.
Affected schools were; Ayii Duang International –primary and secondary school, Nyamlel Central – primary, New Life – primary and secondary school, Jupiter high school – secondary.
Plus, Ayaktit – primary school, George W. Bush –primary school and Big Ben Education center – primary school. All the mentioned seven schools are in Aweil West County, six in Nyamlel and one in Udhum.
Speaking to Juba Monitor via phone, Secretary-General of Gomjuerthii Community Association, Mario Dhieu Duang said the decision by the state ministry of education demoralized the community, school owners and learners, adding that the move had really angered the people.
“As one of the community members and also a community leaders in Juba, we condemn this move because it’s not healthy move because it will undermine the nature of work of private schools in the area and discourage them,” Duang said.
“The news of school being closed down by the ministry has angered the majority of people in the ground because those were the only private schools operating in the area and if they are closed like it’s mean that the entire community will remain without [private] schools,” he added.
Sultan Duang stressed that schools were supposed to be suspended up to the slated date in April and if the school managements failed to abide then they would take the verdict of cancellation of certificate
“ I appeal to Ministry of Education Northern Bahr el Ghazal to reconsider their move because it undermines the learning of children of Aweil West, what was supposed to be done is to suspense them until April and not for period of one year it will create a negative impact in the mind of those affected,” he appealed.
Garang Kuot Anyoun, Director of Jupiter High School one of the affected school, said the shutting down of the school was a surprised, he also denied that they didn’t start teaching as claimed but they were being following education policy.
“Recently, one of my colleague send to me the document that schools including our school [Jupiter high school] were been shutdown, it was a surprise to hear that school has been closed down and we don’t have problem,” Anyoun said.
“As, the Director of Jupiter High School we are following the government regulations, we did not open that could not be true we were waiting for the official communication from the government just [registration] advertisement it’s not an opening, he stressed.
Anyoun added that the cancellation of registration certificates needs to be modify “Based on what I know, the cancellation need to be revised and we shall go through it again because they have not right to cancel the registration certificate when we were not called to hear from them, this need our consent and require us to go to the ministry to be informed,”
In response, the Director-General at NBGs ministry of Education, Santino Bol Akot said they withdraw the registration certificate because they defying unified calendar, adding that any wrongdoer would not go scot-free.
”There is one reason for cancellation [of certificate] when the school is not adhering to the education policy automatically the certificate that was given should be canceled because they have violated unified calendar,” Akot explained.
“There is nothing good in the side of humankind they should not turn down the law and then operate illegally. We are the country and must follow the unified calendar should anyone go opposite than its punishable,” he warned. Mr. Akot stressed that the closure of seven private schools would not affect students affirming that there are many school in the area and therefore some students could shift to tho
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