Chol Riak
Africa-Press – South-Sudan. The administration of the Juba High School in Bor, Jonglei State, is blaming the national ministry of general education and instructions for canceling the school’s results.
Last week, the National Examinations Council cancelled results for three secondary schools in Western Bahr-el-Ghazal, Jonglei and Unity states, citing exam malpractices and attacks on examiners.
But the director of Juba High School Luala Thui blamed the ministry for downplaying the matter, as he alleged that the school had notified the authorities about the incident and forwarded the names of the culprits, but no action was taken against them.
“The misbehaviour was by the four students, and we had about 71 students that were sitting for national exams, and those students were reported immediately,” said Luala.
He said the four had clashed with an officer they accused of invading their privacy by taking their photos.
“I think they asked why the security officer was taking their photos without permission, and that is where the misunderstanding came about,” Luala explained.
According to him, the ministry should have punished only the four students instead of cancelling all the results.
“These innocent students were made part of the story, but they were not part of the story, and now they are going to suffer for nothing,” he said.
He refuted claims that the security officers had been stoned in the process.
“It was a misunderstanding between a few students and the invigilators, but it was not that much. It was not all the students who misbehaved at that time. We thought the problem was solved,” said Apiu Kuol, one of the affected students.
“I like education, that is why I just want to re-sit again because I need a result of senior four,” Apiu added.
But Kuol is worried that she might not be able to afford to pay the registration fees after she was initially supported by an organization to register for the 2022 exams.
However, Deng Ajak Atem, Jonglei State minister for education, defended the ministry, saying he was not surprised by the punishment after the school noted a case of indiscipline.
“The students were able to stone the security officers and invigilators because they were told not to cheat,” he alleged.
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