Africa-Press – South-Sudan. South Sudan’s 2024 secondary school exam results have once again put private institutions on top, but the trend has reignited a critical debate about the government’s role in supporting public school teachers and addressing the deep-seated issues undermining the education system.
On 20th August 2025, the Ministry of General Education and Instruction officially released the results of the 2024 Certificate of Secondary Education Examinations. This came nearly eight months after Senior Four candidates sat for their final exams in December 2024.
This year’s top positions were dominated by students from private schools, with most of them based in Juba, Central Equatoria State. However, the best-performing student came from a private school in Jonglei State.
Out of the initial 50,000 registered candidates, 48,079 sat for the exams. These included 28,192 males and 19,887 females. Of those who sat, 36,701 candidates passed, consisting of 21,619 males and 15,082 females, giving an overall pass rate of 76.3%.
Teachers Speak Out
In response to the concern, teachers in Juba have voiced concern over the state of public education, particularly the welfare of government school teachers.
George Kenyi, Head Teacher at Juba Day Secondary School, said this trend is not new. He emphasized that for years, public schools have struggled to compete due to systemic challenges affecting teacher performance and morale.
According to Mr. Kenyi, many qualified teachers employed in public schools are also working part-time in private institutions, which compromises their commitment and effectiveness in government classrooms. He stressed that motivation is key, stating that when a teacher is not motivated, the quality of teaching certainly suffers.
“It has been a trend for a long time where private schools have been dominating national examination results worldwide. It is related to many factors; Teachers are human beings, while they are carrying out their duties, they need to be cared for,” Kenyi stated.
“Most of the teachers in government schools are the ones working part-time in private schools, and therefore, you find that since in the private schools they are given more privileges, they will give a lot of inputs,” he said.
“Number two off off-course morale when someone is teaching and is not very motivated, you find that what they are giving is not of high quality. In terms of qualifications, teachers in public schools are more qualified.”
Echoing similar concerns, Teacher Margaret Keji emphasized that without meaningful improvements to teacher welfare, private schools will continue to dominate national examination results. She pointed out that the disparity in performance is closely linked to the working conditions and motivation of educators in public institutions. According to Keji, Reasonable and timely payment of salaries will be one of the key solutions to this challenge.
“Reading and teaching materials are all available in private schools, unlike the public schools. If the teachers in government schools get the morale and conducive environment needed, they will teach well,” said Keji. “Also, there are no motivated teachers in Public schools who need reasonable and timely payment of salaries, so it is difficult for teachers to come to schools and teach,” she said.
The Call for Systemic Change
Duot Deng, a teacher and education advocate, highlighted the issue of inadequate staffing and limited resources in public schools as a major factor contributing to the continued dominance of private institutions in national exam results. He noted that many public schools struggle to maintain consistent teaching schedules due to shortages in personnel and essential learning materials.
“The Public schools have inadequate teachers who are very inconsistent, and most of the time they do not attend classes regularly, and they are not strict on following students, especially at the senior level,” said Duot. “The other challenge is the inadequate resources, learning books, materials and practical items for the case of sciences. These challenges pose the risks of them learning leave alone, competing in the national exams,” he said.
Duot further emphasized that addressing the performance gap between public and private schools requires strategic investment in teacher welfare. He pointed out that one of the most effective ways to retain qualified educators in public institutions is through increased and timely salaries.
“To address that, it is the collective responsibility of both the teachers and the government, if you look at the public school teachers, probably they are earning less than 10$ or maybe 20$ while their counterparts are getting close to a million or half,” Duote said. “These unfair wages make the public school teachers reluctant. The government has to take a role in investing in teachers in public schools,” he said.
Clementina Kiden, Head Teacher at Juba One Girls’ School, has added her voice to the growing concern over the challenges facing public education in South Sudan. She pointed to inconsistent salary payments as a major factor undermining the performance and stability of public schools.
Teacher Kiden further noted that many public school teachers are compelled to take on part-time roles in private institutions, where remuneration is more reliable. This, she explained, often leads to divided attention and reduced teaching quality in government schools.
“People are not getting salaries in time, the teachers are really sacrificing themselves to teach,” stated Kiden. “We are just struggling to teach them, these children passing in the private schools, it is the teachers from the public schools teaching them because they work part-time there and they are given a salary on time, that is why they concentrate more on the private schools.”
To address these challenges, Kiden emphasized that the responsibility lies squarely with the government. She called for deliberate and sustained efforts to improve the welfare of teachers in public schools.
“Let the government have mercy on these people. Teachers are staying for 1 year, seven months without salaries,” Kiden said. “How do you think these people are surviving? As a teacher, you have children, and your children need to eat and go to school,” she said.
Students in public secondary schools have voiced concern over the persistent challenges affecting their academic performance. Among the key issues raised is the lack of essential teaching materials, which they say severely limits their ability to learn effectively.
In addition, the students highlighted the inconsistent presence of teachers, attributing it to delayed or unpaid salaries. This, they noted, disrupts the learning process and contributes to the widening gap between public and private school outcomes.
They urged the government to prioritize and strengthen support for public schools nationwide, emphasizing that sustained investment in education is essential to improving learning outcomes and ensuring equal opportunities for all students.
“Students in public schools face a lot of challenges; the material for reading and laboratory is not available like the private schools,” said one of the students.
“Our teachers are also facing a lot of challenges because of the inconsistent payment of salaries; as a result, teachers are not always available in the schools to teach because they are looking for money to sustain themselves, which hinders the students’ performance.”
“In private schools, the teachers have timely and consistent salaries, which play a very big role in student performance,” he said. “In public schools, there is a lot of absenteeism from the students, and teachers do not follow up, unlike in private schools.” “I want to call upon the government to support the government schools to ensure equality in performance.”
Student and Civil Society Perspectives
Students in public secondary schools have also voiced their concerns. They highlighted a lack of essential teaching materials and the inconsistent presence of teachers, attributing it to delayed or unpaid salaries. This, they noted, disrupts the learning process and contributes to the widening gap between public and private school outcomes.
“Students in public schools face a lot of challenges; the material for reading and the laboratory is not available like in private schools,” said one student.
“Our teachers are also facing a lot of challenges because of the inconsistent payment of salaries. As a result, teachers are not always available in the schools to teach because they are looking for money to sustain themselves, which hinders the students’ performance.”
From a civil society standpoint, education activist Bol Deng Bol, based in Jonglei State, called on the government to prioritize education as a cornerstone for national development. Bol attributed the decline in performance to the irregular payment of teachers’ salaries, describing it as a significant setback.
“Our government in South Sudan, in an actual sense, does not prioritize education,” said Bol. “If you look at public schools and universities, they experience a lot of challenges.
In some states, you find public schools do not have qualified teachers, and it has been over a year, and they have not received salaries; how do you expect someone to work for over a year without a salary when they have a family?”
Lawmakers Weigh In
Last week, a member of the national parliament, Majour Babour, called for the establishment of more educational institutes and the improvement of teachers’ working conditions in public schools to enable them to effectively compete with private institutions.
Babour said the government holds the primary responsibility for general education. “General education as a whole is our responsibility as a government. There is no way out,” he stated.
“Though we license some private schools, they should not be the dominating group because the government has an objective for educating our citizens up to the secondary school certificate level. We want to produce citizens who know why they are there, citizens who love their country, and citizens who are ready to sacrifice.”
Babour recommended that the government invest more in teacher training and public education infrastructure, saying public institutions must be the foundation of national education goals.
According to a report by the World Education website, teachers in South Sudan face widespread financial instability, chronic delays in salary payments, and wages that are far below a livable standard.
These issues destabilize the education system, contributing to teacher attrition, absenteeism, and diminished student outcomes, further compounding the country’s education crisis.
What do you think is the single most critical step the government could take to bridge the gap between public and private schools?
For More News And Analysis About South-Sudan Follow Africa-Press
