This blog explores the educational challenges that South Sudan has been facing since its independence on July 2011. It interduces the Participatory Action for School Improvement (PASI) project as an instrument to tackle some of these challenges, especially creating programs for peace, security and development. According to USAID,“South Sudan has the world’s highest proportion of out-of-school children”. (USAID. 2018), therefore, I believe implementing (PASI) is South Sudan is relevant and promising.

In a country like South Sudan, which is one of the poorest countries in the world and has fragile communities, (PASI) project might be the right approach to expand children’s access to primary education and to improve learning outcomes. According to Kendall, N., Kaunda, Z., & Friedson-Rideneur, S. (2015 P. 68) “The roots of participatory educational development” are a fruit of Paulo Freire work, whom theory and practice outlined “participation not as a tool of development, but rather as a fundamental condition of humanity”.

1-    What is Participatory Action for School Improvement (PASI)

In her study about PASI project in Malawi, Kendall et al define (PASI) as “bottom-up” project, a people-centered practice, and a common responsibility between local communities and International Development Organization(IDO) for the learning outcome. In this partnership, the (IDO) outside donors and the local communities form Stakeholder partnership and decide to work together toward school improvement by defining their own roles in this process. The outsider donors articulate their values such as gender equality and empowering marginalized children. After the two parties agree on their expectations and their roles as partners within PASI, the community would have control over the processes of “planning, implementation, evaluation, and formulation and of all funding” (Kendall, N. ,Kaunda, Z., & Friedson-Rideneur, S. 2015 p.71). The outside donors would assess the fund “monitor progress and evaluate the impact/ outcome on the basis of the goals and objectives set earlier through the participatory methods”. The “PASI” project was implemented in Malawi, in five schools, four of them were in rural areas. Despite the short duration of the project, which was three years long, the locals and the IDO saw it as a big success in improving schools and learning outcome. The teachers’ performance improved and the students’ attendance was increased. “In the third term of the year, the school was rated second in the grade eight final national examinations. 12 girls and 12 boys were selected to Community Day Secondary school”.  (Kendall, N., Kaunda, Z., & Friedson-Rideneur, S. 2015 p.73). The (PASI) project was a great success, as Robert Chamber, stated “New professionals who put the last first already exist; the hard question is how they can multiply” ( 1983).

2- The Challenges that faces Education in South Sudan

Wars and instability has impacted the educational system in addition to some other social problems. The USAID and many international Development organizations (IDOs) are offering numerous top-down approach programs to help South Sudan government in designing education plans, creating policies, financing of infrastructure projects. However, there is still a lot of work to be done in order to increase access to basic education, support children in the war zone psychosocially, provide temporary school to the local communities in the rural areas, address the issues of out-of-school children, and finally empower women and girls to promote their roles in peace and economic development.

I believe, Participatory Action For school Improvement (PASI), as a bottom-up approach can play a crucial role in addressing some of these challenges especially in rural areas where poverty is rampant and the gender gap is wide, due to the following factors:

First; The South Sudan government failed to address the basic needs of the South Sudanese people especially in the rural areas, given the instability caused by the civil war following independence in 2011. However, the (PASI) the International development organizations (IDO) gave  people in local Communities power to explore their needs, plan the learning process, manage schools’ budget, and evaluate the learning outcome. The stockholders in these communities including, parents, students, teachers and head teachers all have a voice in this process. As stated by Kendall, there is even a shift in power within these communities that fevered the marginalized groups. (Kendall. 2015)

Second; The Enough project on South Sudan called for opportunities being given to ordinary people to make their voice heard and their ideas expressed in the peace process and other infrastructural services. The proven success in Malawi leads us to believe that(PASI) project in South Sudan will achieve the aspired goals. According to Enough Project on South Sudan “Sentry investigations and other reporting, all vital economic sectors are not serving the needs of South Sudanese people at current time because the profits they generate have been hijacked and the sectors have become totally corrupted” (Brian Adeba, Brad Brooks-Rubin, John Prendergast, and Jon Temin September 2017).

Most South Sudanese people lost confidence in the elite because of their love of power as a tool to serve themselves through corruption. The elite always justify this corruption by saying that they want the money for serving their local communities. They corrupt local leaders in local communities considering the fact that usually, these communities are undemocratic and thus  patronage is the prevailing system. As noted by Brian Adeba, Brad Brooks-Rubin, John Prendergast, and Jon Temin (2017), it is especially difficult for services to reach the people of South Sudan because

Based on the  (PASI) approach, usually the genuine member in communities emerge as leaders of this process because budgetary issues were controlled by the (IDO). additionally, the beneficiary of the empowerment of marginalized children and girls who took advantages of the gender equity will arise as the new leadership of these communities. This will have a huge impact in “the power shift and balance between the ‘elite’ and the ‘people’”.  The (PASI) project can be an effective approach to change the dynamics on the ground. The (PASI) project might be a bold attempt in supporting South Sudanese demands for peace, national identity, and national unity.

Third; According to, Education Cluster Assessment 2017, South Sudan teachers are not interested in remaining in this profession due to “insufficient, delayed and unpaid salaries”. (UNICEF, South Sudan 2016). The (PASI) case in Malawi had a positive impact on People involved directly in schools in those local communities. Voluntarily, the locals were responding to teachers’ need like helping them building their houses, this service improved teachers’ performance, which reflects positively on students’ attendance.  In South Sudan especially in rural areas teachers facing the same dilemma, therefore The (PASI) project can help in South Sudan in this regard.

3- Challenges in implementing (PASI) in South Sudan?

There are three main potential challenges that may face the implementation of (PASI) approach in South Sudan, these challenges are related to;

A    Budget: The fund from (IDO) is in decline since the war started again in 2013, and there is a lot of international pressure organization including Enough Project, call for using money as leverage to push for peace in South Sudan. This may complicate the implementation of (PASI) in South Sudan. Also, there is always a concern about how the local communities’ leaders manage and prioritize their schools’ needs

B       Shift in power within the communities: According to, Kendall, (Kendall. 2015) In (PASI) project there is always a shift in power within the local communities, this matter will lead to resistant form some corrupted elites against this project.

C    Shift in power between some IDO and the communities: The South Sudan education has been run mostly by different outsider parties who promote different religious and political agendas using a curriculum that services them to manipulate the local communities. These outsider parties represent the most threatening challenge to (PASI) project. They will never except that the power shift to benefit the locals’ communities. They will question the ability of the locals to run schools and the duration and sustainability of the project.

After a new peace agreement was signed in Khartoum Sudan, recently South Sudan is witnessing a new dawn. It might be  worthwhile for the (IDO) to interduce and teach PASI project to community leaders in South Sudan,  to sustain peace and to improve education.

Bibliography:

Barnaba, B. J. E. (2015). Examining the Contemporary Status of an Education System: The Case of the Republic of South Sudan.

Chamber, R. (1983). Rural development put the last first. ( p. 168)

Kendall, N., Kaunda, Z., & Friedson-Rideneur, S. (2015). Community participation in international development education quality improvement efforts: current paradoxes and opportunities. Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability, 27(1), 65–83.

USAID. (2018). Country Profile South Sudan. USAID.

The tumultuous history of the Republic of South Sudan has only stilted efforts to improve the nation’s education infrastructure. Prior to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005, very few schools were operating in South Sudan. Schools that were operating were run by missionaries, communities, or Non-Governmental organizations. These organizations helped to fill the gaps in education, however, lack of a unified and uniform education system has affected overall outcomes of education in South Sudan. Without a unified and uniform education system, decisions on curriculum, language of instruction, and even duration of primary and secondary education is left in the hands of the provider (Barnaba, 2015)(“South Sudan,” n.d.)

The Comprehensive Peace Agreement aimed to stabilize the nation and to establish a new education system. After signing the agreement, the South Sudanese government launched a “Go to School” initiative. During this initiative, more than 1.6 million school-aged children were enrolled in primary education, up from an estimated 343,000 before CPA (Barnaba, 2015). However, the CPA ultimately failed in delivering a single unified country and education system. In July of 2011, after enduring two decades with the Khartoum-led government South Sudan became an independent republic. After independence, South Sudan fell into another civil war.

Education contributes to peace and reconciliation as well as to conflict and strife (Elbla, 2011). Frequent Civil wars devastated educational prospects for generations of South Sudanese. With the population of South Sudan exceeding 12 million is 2017, the nation is straining to provide its young population (70% of South Sudanese are under the age of thirty) access to stable education (Barnaba, 2015) (USAID, n.d.). As the history of Sudan and South Sudan shows, improper considerations when developing education policies can lead to sustained conflict. Despite the apparent success of the “Go to School” initiative prior to independence, new conflicts have set back another generation of South Sudanese. In 2015, over 1.2 million primary age children were out of school. As it stands, South Sudan has one of the world’s lowest literacy rates with youth literacy rates hovering at 37%. Primary school completion rates are only at 25.7% (18.1% female, 33.2% males) .

Conflict and insecurity pose a huge problem for the establishment of a functional education system in South Sudan. The government recognizes the impact of history and conflicts on its education policies and attempted to rectify these issues through conscientious planning and reflection. An updated Strategic Education Plan for 2017-2022 developed by the Ministry of General Education and Instruction (MoGEI), places an emphasis on risk-management and strategic partnerships in education policies moving forward. In a country like South Sudan, where civil war has destroyed educational opportunities for generations, the presence of functioning schools, teachers and books has the potential to demonstrate that peace is delivering. Education, more than any other sector, has the “potential to deliver an early, large, and highly visible peace dividend” (Brown, 2011).

Director of the Department of International Relations in MoGEI, Esther Akumu, notes the necessity of reflecting on the “political complications” and “ [South Sudan’s] ideological confusion and educational complexity” in order to develop a working plan to address these issues. Akumu also notes that “building a successful nation begins with a strong education infrastructure to promote peace and stability” and stresses the importance of meaningful access, defining it as “regular attendance rates for both boys and girls, systematic progression, achievement and learning, appropriate transition from primary to secondary education”.

The development of the Education Sector Plan led by the MoGEI has brought together a number of education sector actors at the central and local level, civil society, the Education Cluster, UNESCO, UNICEF and UNHCR. As South Sudan moves forward, it must continue to consider and adjust how education policies are formed and enacted. MoGEI’s Strategic Education Plan, addresses some of the main issues the government has faced when enacting education policies in the past and emphasizes the involvement of humanitarian and development partners [as] essential to ensure that crisis management is aligned with government priorities” and states that “Risk management policy is an integrated process that involves the broadest possible participation of government, partners, NGOs, parents, and students.” (UNESCO, 2018)

Engaging with international partners is especially important as the ‘Khartoum Declaration of Agreement between the parties of the conflict in South Sudan ’ was recently signed between the South Sudan the Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM – IO) was recently signed. Both parties have agreed to a “permanent ceasefire; the launch of a pre-transition period of 4 months and a transition period of 36 months; and the revitalization of the oil sector in cooperation with the Government of Sudan”, however expectations are not optimistic. A similar power sharing deal brokered by IGAD in July 2016 not only failed but also triggered the largest-scale South Sudanese refugee outflow to date (UNHCR, 2018).

When governments take the time to properly consider the impact and outcome of education policies, youth can become the force of change a nation needs to thrive. Empowering local communities is the first step towards stabilizing conflict in South Sudan and improving education infrastructure as a whole. South Sudanese parents have identified schooling as major priority alongside food and water and across South Sudan, “parents and young people are striving to overturn a legacy of illiteracy, restricted opportunity, and poor-quality schooling” (Brown, 2011).

The citizens of South Sudan have shown the motivation to improve their communities. They are well-aware of the struggles occurring within their community. In order to build a foundation for their nation, secure peace and stability, promote economic growth and continued prosperity, the government of South Sudan should consider giving its citizens more power over the processes of planning, implementation, evaluation, and formulation of education into the hands of its citizens (Kendall, Kaunda, & Friedson-Rideneur, 2015). Government instability has been the largest factor against the development of education in South Sudan, giving the community control over the processes of education, allows for more stability and continuity.

Bibliography

Barnaba, B. J. E. (2015). Examining the Contemporary Status of an Education System: The Case of the Republic of South Sudan, 10.

Brophy, M. (2003). Background paper prepared for the Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2003/4 Gender and Education for All: The Leap to Equality.

Brown, G. (2011). Education in South Sudan: investing in a better future.

EFA Global Monitoring Report Team. (2014). Education for All Global Monitoring Report. In A. C. Michalos (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research (pp. 1811–1814). Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5_3082

Elbla, A. I. F. (2011). Issues and challenges related to access to quality basic education in Sudan. Ahfad Journal; Omdurman, 28(2), 3–14.

Kendall, N., Kaunda, Z., & Friedson-Rideneur, S. (2015). Community participation in international development education quality improvement efforts: current paradoxes and opportunities. Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability, 27(1), 65–83. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11092-015-9210-0

South Sudan. (n.d.). [Text/HTML]. Retrieved October 7, 2018, from http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/southsudan

UNESCO. (2018, February 23). In South Sudan, ‘school is part of the peace-building process.’ Retrieved October 6, 2018, from http://www.iiep.unesco.org/en/south-sudan-school-part-peace-building-process-4400

UNHCR. (2018). South Sudan Regional RRP 2018 Mid Year Report. UNHCR.

USAID. (2018). Country Profile South Sudan. USAID.

USAID. (n.d.). South Sudan Crisis Fact Sheet #8 – 06-08-2018, 7.