Basic and vocational Education aims to improve access to equitably and sustainably delivered basic education services for vulnerable and marginalized populations by 10 % by 2025.
There is no evidence that progress towards achieving SDG target 4(1), “to ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education” shall be realized in South Sudan. Reports published in 2018 found that every third school had been damaged, destroyed, occupied, or closed since 2013 and that more than 70 percent of children who should be attending classes are not receiving an education, as schools continue to be destroyed or remain un-usable. Teachers have fled violence and economic stress[1]. According to the 2018 Out-of-School Children South Sudan Country Study, at least 2.2. million school-aged children across the country were out of school[2].
There are also thousands of children who may be enrolled in school, but who are at serious risk of being excluded from education. These include over-age students, child laborers, children displaced by conflict, children with disabilities, child soldiers, and children in
The Sustainable Development Agenda acknowledges the importance of youth and vocational training, primarily through Goal 4, 8 and 9, respectively on education; inclusive economic growth and decent work; and industry, innovation, and infrastructure. TVET is a priority program in the Ministry of General Education and Instruction (MoGEI). General Education Strategic Plan 2017 – 2022, states that the goal is to “promote relevant and quality non-formal and formal post-primary technical and vocational education and training that is governed by a unified and efficient TVET system that provides nationally and globally competitive human resources while stressing gender equity and inclusiveness”.
AFOD program will complement the efforts of the Government of South Sudan to meet its goals of providing inclusive quality education and enhancing vocational skills among the youthful population.
This program component has the following strategic interventions:
- Support to school feeding programs
- Support girl child education and retention at school
- Vocational education support (skilling of youths)
- Enhance capacity building of education stakeholders
[1] UNICEF South Sudan, Country Office Annual Report 2018 – 2019.
[2] MoGEI-UNICEF South Sudan, Education Brief, May 2019.
Basic Education Component
Strategic Objective: Improved access to equitably delivered quality education services for boys and girls of school-going age.
- Conduct program needs assessment to provide evidence to inform programming
- Provide support in the development of program work plans, budgets and fund-raising efforts for schools
- Support training and mentorship for teachers on key education components
- Support procurement and distribution of education supplies and logistics to enable girl child retention at school
- Conduct advocacy and community mobilization to create demand for education services.
- Support supervision and monitoring of school activities
- Provide support for Girl child basic education
- Support the formation and functioning of school management committees and PTAs
- Strengthen education management information systems (EMIS)
- Support education emergency response in conflict-affected areas
Alternative and Vocational Education
Strategic objective: Enhanced functional adult literacy and numeracy skills of young
- Support adult literacy through skill training for school-dropped-out youths.
- Procurement and distribution of tools and equipment in support of functional literacy.
- Support development, production, and printing of guidelines for skills training.
- Partner with other agencies to support basic skills development for the youth-school dropouts and non-learned youth.
Education Institutional Strengthening
Strategic objective: Enhanced capacity of education stakeholders to manage and coordinate education programs.
- Support the establishment and training of school management Committees and PTAs.
- Support school management committees in strategic and operational planning.
- Support local resource mobilization efforts to scale up basic education services and support state and county education departments to monitor education program activities.
- Strength the state, county, and school education management information systems including operations research.