South Sudan: Lessons from developing a national education strategic plan

South Sudan – the world’s newest country – is a difficult place to develop government capacity.This paper looks at lessons learned from acapacity development process where IIEP and UNICEF South Sudan supported South Sudan’s education ministry in developing its first education sector plan in 2010–2011. The main lesson learned is that a participatory planning process pays off. International consultants could easily have been hired to draft a plan in isolation, but in this case where local ministry officials received the necessary time and support, the result was greater ownership, improved leadership, organizational learning and a more sustainable plan. Such support should be modified to a low-capacity context. Training topics should include not only planning but also basic administrative skills; all materials and products should be kept relatively simple; and training should preferably be accompanied by on-the-job coaching. Meanwhile, incorporating crosscutting issues like gender, youth, and conflict-sensitive planning proved tricky. These are a few of the lessons learned in this study.