JUBA , SOUTH SUDAN - Two United Nations agencies are calling on South Sudanese authorities to immediately reopen schools across the country, saying the damage being done to children forced to stay home outweighs the risk of catching the novel coronavirus.
In a joint editorial released on Tuesday, children’s agency UNICEF and UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) argued that while it is important to protect children from COVID-19, children and schools are not the main drivers of the epidemic. COVID-19 is the disease brought on by the coronavirus.
An estimated 2.2 million South Sudanese children are not attending school, and the longer schools stay closed, the less likely it is that children will return to the classroom, according to Tap Raj Pant, UNESCO’s education chief in South Sudan.
“If the schools are not reopened timely, there is a big risk of not having enrolled children again back to school, which will increase the number of out-of-school children in South Sudan,” Pant told VOA’s South Sudan in Focus program.
Research indicates children are less likely to contract the coronavirus than adults, and less likely to become seriously ill, although they are capable of passing the infection to older people.
Dr. Mohamed Ayoya, UNICEF’s representative in South Sudan, said that if South Sudanese children are kept out of school for long periods of time, their lives are more likely to be tarnished by poverty and violence.
“We have seen this during the Ebola time in West Africa, that their exposure to physical, emotional, and sexual violence increases, their mental health deteriorates and they become more vulnerable to child labor and they are less likely to break out of the cycle of poverty,” Dr. Ayoya told VOA.
Even more worrisome, said Ayoya, is that girls who stay away from school for long periods of time often never return.
Most projects aimed at helping strengthen the country’s educational system have been put on hold since schools were closed due to COVID-19 in March.
FILE - Displaced South Sudanese children attend class inside a tent set up by UNICEF in Mingkaman, in Lakes State, May 6, 2019.
Vulnerable children, especially those in rural areas, depend on school feeding programs to have daily meals, which means more children in South Sudan will be malnourished, said Ayoya.
“We have no other interest in South Sudan other than the interest of children, so reopening the schools is for the interest of the children and to make sure that tomorrow’s leaders of South Sudan are actually being provided with opportunity to train, to take forward the leadership of this country,” Ayoya told VOA.
No one knows when the virus will be under control and children can safely return to school, said Health Ministry spokesman Dr. Thuoi Loi.
“It is not yet a decision but there is a technical team actually comprised of the ministries of health and higher education to keep monitoring the trend of infection in the country, and at the same time see what can be done to resume with classes within the context of COVID-19 and adhering to the preventive measures,” Dr. Loi told South Sudan in Focus.
While school is out, Juba parent Philip Lokudu said many children in his Gudele neighborhood have turned to illegal activities like joining outlawed groups that attack each other with machetes and knives.
“I am seeing a lot of students really getting a lot of difficulties in staying at home and they are joining other groups which might turn them away from school. So, opening the schools will be of an advantage to both the students and the teachers because it will keep them busy,” Lokudu told VOA.
Newer articles:
- South Sudan soldiers on trial for rights abuses - 24/07/2020 18:06
- USAID South Sudan - Crisis Fact Sheet #9, Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 - 24/07/2020 16:28
- Bentiu PoC Site Population Count (June 2020) - 24/07/2020 04:39
- Peter Biar Ajak flees to the US - 24/07/2020 02:38
- Amir of Qatar sends written message to president of South Sudan - 23/07/2020 22:07
Older news items
- UN Shelters 6,000 People Escaping New Violence in South Sudan - 23/07/2020 10:58
- IOM COVID-19 Appeal: South Sudan Preparedness and Response Plan - July 2020 - June 2021 - 23/07/2020 05:23
- South Sudan’s mothers sew face masks for livelihood and protect communities from COVID-19 - 23/07/2020 04:31
- South Sudan violence threatens over 60,000 people in Bor and Pibor with hunger - 23/07/2020 04:04
- Pandemic, slump in oil prices derail South Sudan revival plan - 23/07/2020 02:51
Latest news items (all categories):
- South Sudan vows probe after two Ethiopian peacekeepers killed in Jonglei ambush; Ethiopia, UN and Egypt condemn attack - 26/08/2026 13:06
- Dozens killed in rebel attacks on Sudan’s Kordofan, medical group says - 26/08/2026 13:03
- The truth about the South Sudanese vice president being prevented from travelling to Kenya - 26/08/2026 13:01
- WHO Regional Office Country Focus Coordinator visits South Sudan to strengthen health sector support - 26/08/2026 12:58
- South Sudanese Catholic Bishop Presents Women’s Leadership as Alternative Ahead of First-Ever General Election - 26/08/2026 12:56
Random articles (all categories):
- South Sudan sets target of reducing malaria deaths by 80 pct by 2025 - 11/11/2022 05:00
- South Sudanese bishop named secretary general of Anglican Communion - 13/08/2022 01:29
- South Sudan Reiterates Support for Morocco’s Territorial Integrity - 19/10/2018 18:15
- مملكة شلو بعد تكوين دولة الجنوب - 27/02/2011 00:00
- South Sudan talks extension 'undesirable' - 10/02/2020 06:53
Popular articles:
- Who is the darkest person in the world, according to Guinness World Record? - 25/10/2022 02:34 - Read 148924 times
- School exam results in South Sudan show decline - 01/04/2012 17:58 - Read 28007 times
- Top 10 weakest currency exchange rates in Africa in 2023 - 19/07/2023 00:24 - Read 25087 times
- No oil in troubled waters - 25/03/2014 15:02 - Read 24395 times
- NDSU student from South Sudan receives scholarship - In-Forum - 29/09/2012 01:44 - Read 22343 times
