South Sudan: Education Country Brief
Background
This brief provides data and references to the literature on issues that matter for education in South Sudan. It is part of a series that provides a brief introduction to the state of education systems in Africa. The work was prepared for country pages on IICBA’s website and a digital repository of resources at the country, sub-regional, and continental level. The brief series also informs work conducted in the context of (i) the European Union’s Africa Regional Teachers’ Initiative and (ii) the KIX (Knowledge and Innovation eXchange) Africa 19 Hub for anglophone countries that promotes the use of evidence for policy making and benefits from funding from the Global Partnership for Education and Canada’s International Development Research Center. This brief and its associated webpage are meant to be updated as new information becomes available, at least on a yearly basis.
Key resources: This brief provides the following resources:
- Educational outcomes: Estimates are provided for learning poverty (the share of 10-year-old children not able to read and understand a simple text), educational attainment and/or enrollment rates at various levels of education, the components of the human capital index, and human capital wealth as a share of national wealth.
- Selected literature: Links are provided to selected publications at the global, regional, and country levels with a focus on six themes: (i) learning assessment systems; (ii) early childhood education; (iii) teaching and learning; (iv) the data challenge; (v) gender equality; and (vi) equity and inclusion.
- Country policies: Links are provided to key institutions (including Ministries) managing the education system, selected policy and planning documents, and websites that aim to provide comparative data on policies across countries.
- Knowledge repositories and other resources: Links are provided to a dozen digital repositories that collate publications and resources on education issues in Africa.
- Data: Links are provided to data sources that can help inform education policy.
This country brief provides a brief introduction to selected issues and research relevant to South Sudan’s education system and links to resources that may be useful to official of Ministries of Education and other education stakeholders. A special focus is placed on thematic areas from the KIX (Knowledge and Innovation eXchange) initiative for which UNESCO IICBA manages the Secretariat of the Africa KIX 19 Hub. Together with the associated webpages on UNESCO IICBA’s website, the brief is to be updated as new information becomes available, typically every year. The brief starts with a review of basic data on educational outcomes including learning poverty, educational attainment, and the human capital index. The focus then shifts to information related to the thematic areas of focus of the KIX Africa 19 Hub, namely: (i) learning assessment (ii) early childhood education; (iii) teaching & learning (iv) data challenge; (v) gender equality; and (vi) equity and inclusion. The brief also includes links to country documents and processes as well as a range of other resources and websites.
Educational Outcomes and Human Capital
South Sudan, like many other African countries, is facing a learning crisis. In sub-Saharan Africa, learning poverty, defined as the share of children unable to read and understand an age-appropriate text by age 10, is estimated at 89 percent by the World Bank, UNESCO, and other organizations. While specific country estimates are not available for South Sudan, the World Bank Capital Index suggests concerning developments. South Sudan as many other African countries is facing a learning crisis. According to their data, students in South Sudan score 336 on a harmonized test score scale where 625 represents advanced attainment and 300 represents minimum attainment. This benchmark corresponds to the advanced achievement standard set by the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. It is imperative to improve the quality of the education provided in schools.
Schooling does not imply learning, but lack of learning increases the likelihood of dropping out of school. According to the World Bank and UNESCO Institute of Statistics, the primary school completion rate was at 35 percent in 2011 for boys and 19 percent for girls. In the same year, the lower secondary completion was at 23% for men and 13% for women. Gross enrollment in tertiary education was at 1 percent for men in 2018 versus .3 percent for women.
The Human Capital Index for South Sudan also provides useful statistics based on five other variables: (i) the probability that a child will survive past age five (90 percent); (ii) the years of schooling that a child is expected to complete by age 18 (4.7 years); (iii) the learning-adjusted years of schooling that a child is expected to complete, a measure combining the years of schooling and average harmonized test scores (2.5 years); (iv) the adult survival rate (68 percent of 15-year olds surviving until age 60); and finally (v) the probability that a child will not be stunted in early childhood (69 percent). Based on these five variables and the harmonized test score, the expected productivity in adulthood of a child is estimated in comparison to full productivity that could be expected with full education and health. The estimate is that a child born in South Sudan today will reach only 31 percent of its potential. This is lower than the average for sub-Saharan Africa region and Low-income countries.
Selected Literature
Supporting countries in using evidence for policymaking is an objective shared by many organizations and initiatives. Under the KIX initiative for which UNESCO IICBA manages the KIX Africa 19 Hub and collaborates with KIX Africa 21, the focus is on six themes: (i) learning assessment systems (ii) early childhood education; (iii) teaching and learning (iv) the data challenge; (v) gender equality; and (vi) equity and inclusion. For each topic, a link is provided to the GPE-KIX Discussion paper written at the start of the initiative in 2019 and additional publications that could be useful for policy. By necessity, to keep this brief short, only a few resources can be mentioned, but additional resources can be accessed through digital repositories listed below. A brief note on UNESCO IICBA research is also provided.
Learning Assessment Systems [GPE-KIX Discussion Paper]. Learning assessment tools and systems are essential to gauge and improve learning outcomes for students. A primer on large scale assessments from the World Bank provides guidance on such assessments, as does a review of learning assessments in Africa from UNESCO IIEP. Among regional assessments, PASEC (Programme for the Analysis of Education Systems) for francophone countries in West and Central Arica and SEACMEQ (Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality) for anglophone countries in East and Southern Africa are the best known. These instruments target primary schools. Other tools that focus and assess the learning outcomes of young learners include the Early Grade Reading and Mathematics Assessments (EGRA/EGMA). Supported and funded primarily by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), these assessments are administered by different agencies such as the World Bank, RTI International and others across the continent. The West African Examinations Council also provides guidance on examinations and certificate accreditation in Anglophone countries of West Africa. Also interesting is PISA for development which is being piloted in secondary schools in a few African countries.
South Sudan does not participate in any regional or international assessments but has participated in the Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) and the Early Grade Mathematical Assessments. Raza et al. (2019) assess the determinants of educational standing among newly enrolled first-grade students using primary data from 113 BRAC schools with 2415 students in South Sudan, drawing on data from EGRA/EGMA.
The South Sudan Examinations Council sets and administers examinations for primary and secondary leaving certificates in all schools. South Sudan’s National Statement of Commitment (2023) at the Transforming Education Summit emphasizes improving public examinations and school-based learning assessments to measure learning outcomes more accurately and inform relevant pedagogical teaching and learning practices.
Improving Teaching and Learning [GPE-KIX Discussion Paper]. How teachers and students interact and engage is key to improve learning outcomes. Cost-effective approaches pr ‘smart buys’ to improve learning in low-income countries are discussed in a World Bank report. Teaching is paramount, and therefore so are teacher policies to ensure that successful teachers make for successful students. Standards for the teaching profession were proposed by Education International and UNESCO with regional standards available from the Africa Union Commission, including a framework for standards and competencies.
The formal education in South Sudan follows an 8-4-4 structure. In this system, the Directorate of Inspection and Supervision has the responsibility to ensure the delivery of services in line with the designated standards. Furthermore, South actively engaged with regional educational initiatives, including its membership the Inter-Country Quality Node on Teaching and Learning (ICQN-TL), an intergovernmental forum for policy dialogue and collaborative action among African Ministers of Education and strategic partners for advancing quality teaching and learning.
In the context of teacher training, UNESCO’s report Teacher Education in South Sudan with Emphasis on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Skills (2022) presents a case study of teacher training development, outlining key innovations in relation to the new curriculum. In addition to UNESCO’s research, UNICEF’s report on Time to Teach: Teacher Attendance and Time on Task in Primary Schools South Sudan (2021) examines teacher absenteeism in the country and provides policy recommendations.
Strengthening Early Childhood Care and Education [GPE-KIX Discussion Paper]. Experiences children undergo in early childhood can affect their entire life. Nurturing care is essential. Essential interventions in early childhood include pre-primary education. Yet less than half of young children in Africa benefit from pre-primary education according to the Global Education Monitoring report 2021. The Office of Research at UNICEF maintains a webpage with useful links to organizations working on child-related themes organized by subject, including early childhood.
The General Education Strategic Plan, 2017-2022 outlines its aim to increase the current baseline gross enrolment rate (GER) for pre-primary from 10% in 2017 to 15% in 2021, yet relevant data on early learning in South Sudan is considerably scarce. Current pre-primary education framework, curriculum and guidance booklet were developed alongside the 2013 curriculum review.
To address the need for a comprehensive understanding of the pre-primary education landscape, UNICEF & World Bank’s collaborated on a 2019 report on Pre-Primary Education in South Sudan: Current Opportunities and Challenges. This report provides a comprehensive situational analysis and identifies critical bottlenecks and potential pathways. The report was developed upon diagnostic workshop which convened 50 participants from the MoGEI and pre-primary education providers.
Furthermore, the African Early Childhood Network (AfECN) South Sudan ECD Profile illustrates an overview of the country’s ECCE situation. Additionally, the World Bank’s 2021 report Supporting Preprimary Parent Engagement in South Sudan provides lessons from eight parent education programs to increase the engagement of parents in preprimary skill development. Basic data on early childhood development are available from a nurturing care profile.
Achieving Gender Equality In and Through Education [GPE-KIX Discussion Paper]. The cost of gender inequality is massive, as is the cost of not educating girls, including in Africa. When girls lack education, this affects their earnings in adulthood, the number of children they will have and their health, as well as their agency, among others. When girls are not in school, they are also at higher risk of child marriage, with again high costs for them, their children, and society. In Africa, the African Union’s International Centre for the Education of Girls and Women in Africa supports member states on girls’ education.
Key stakeholders in the promotion of gender quality in South Sudan include the Directorate of Gender, Equity and Inclusive of the MoGEI and the Ministry of Gender Child and Social Welfare (MoGCSW). South Sudan has made significant efforts to enhance gender equality in education. The framework for gender equality in education in South Sudan was initially provided in the Girls' Education Strategy for South Sudan 2015-2017, which was followed by the second National Girls’ Education Strategy (2018-2022) although the strategy is yet to be available online.
Aligning with its commitment to gender equality, South Sudan ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 2014, with the lead of MoGCSW. In 2018, with the support of UNFPA, the government launched costed Strategic National Action Plan (2017-2030) to End Child Marriage in South Sudan.
Several reports and studies shed light on the challenges and conditions of gender equality in South Sudan's education system. For example, UNICEF’s Education Case Study (2021) summarizes the challenges faced following COVID-19 school closures. DFIT (2018)’s Girls’ Education South Sudan (GESS): Endline School Survey summarizes the findings from the endline school survey of a five and half year program, on themes such as school and classroom practice, teaching, school management, attendance, etc. with a focus on gendered conditions. Madut (2020) in their study Determinants of Early Marriage and Construction of Gender Roles in South Sudan examines the early marriage situation in South Sudan, as well as the consequences including the high illiteracy rate. Oxfam’s report (2016) provides a comprehensive gender analysis of the country, including in the education sector. A 2022 UNICEF report on Child Marriage in Eastern and Southern Africa estimates that 1 in 2 young women were first married or in union before the age of 18. 55% of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18 had no education as compared to 20% who had at least a secondary education.
Data Management Systems Strengthening [GPEKIX Discussion Paper]. Education management information systems (EMIS) are key for management. They can also support evidence-based policymaking. In Africa, the African Union’s Institute of Education for Development supports member states on EMIS. In addition to EMIS data, other data sources including household surveys, school surveys, student assessments, and impact evaluations of pilot interventions are essential to inform policy.
The EMIS Unit is housed within MoGEI under the Directorate for Planning and Budgeting in the Department for Research and Policy Development. More broadly, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is the official statistical agency of the South Sudanese Government, contributing to data collection and analysis.
In South Sudan, EMIS was initiated in 2007. From 2014, EMIS activities have been funded by the EU and then GPE and have been managed by UNICEF.
Although the country faced recurrent interruptions in conducting education census (2014, 2017, 2019, and 2020), the most recent National Education Census Report (2021) covers more than 90% of schools in South Sudan and summarizes the data collected through EMIS from December 2021 to April 2022. The report notes several challenges, including internet coverage, the battery life of some tablets, slow data collection in hard-to-reach areas, technical mistakes, and limited or no information obtained from conflict-affected areas.
To provide a further understanding of the role of EMIS in South Sudan, UNESCO IIEP’s “Strengthening MoGEI engagement and leadership in rapid Education in Emergencies (EiE) responses in South Sudan” (2022) provides practical guidance for stakeholders to be more effectively engaged in the planning and implementation of EiE. Additionally, the Education Policy and Data Center’s “Seeing the reconstruction of primary education in Southern Sudan through EMIS 2006-2009” (2010) explores South Sudan’s reconstruction path after the 2005 peace agreement.
Equity and Inclusion/Leaving No One Behind [GPEKIX Discussion Paper]. Equity and inclusion are major challenges for education systems. Gender, disability, ethnicity, indigenous status, poverty, displacement, and many other factors may all lead some children to lack access to education. In Africa especially, gaps in educational outcomes between groups may be large, as illustrated in the case of disability. Equity must be at the center of education policy on the continent. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) are Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) are two major international frameworks related to disability-inclusive education exist.
In February 2023, President Salva Kiir directed relevant government ministries to ensure that primary and secondary education is free throughout the country. Welcoming the statement, UNICEF and WFP, also acknowledged that the effective implementation of the President's decree requires the collaboration and support of all stakeholders.
To understand the broader context of inclusive education in South Sudan, it’s important to note that inclusion is one of the responsibilities of the Directorate of Gender, Equity and Inclusive of MoGEI, while the Directorate of Alternative Education Systems (AES) of MoGEI deals with illiteracy among youth and adults.
The national inclusive education policy 2020 provides the country’s policy direction in this matter. In addition, MoGCSW developed the National Disability Action Plan in 2020 to identify key action areas. South Sudan carries out seven AES programmes, including Accelerated Learning Programme(ALP) and Community Girls School (CGS), offering flexible entry and exit points for children, youth and adults, guided by the Policy for AES (2015).
In terms of education in emergencies, MoGEI with the Education Cluster developed the South Sudan Teachers’ Code of Conduct for Emergency Situations in 2012 to continue providing protective education during emergencies. For pastoralist and nomadic communities, MoGEI, the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, with UNESCO and FAO, launched a new curriculum and programme strategy framework in 2017.
To gain further insights related to out-of-school children in South Sudan, Global Initiative on Out-of-School Children: South Sudan Country Study (2018) highlights challenges and recommendations to address OOSC in South Sudan. The Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report’s webpage Inclusion in South Sudan summarizes the country’s approach to ensuring inclusion. In 2022, IIEP conducted a South Sudan case study that examines the MoGEI’s engagement and leadership in the early stages of humanitarian interventions. Additionally, it’s noteworthy that South Sudan ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 2015 and is in discussions to ratify the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). South Sudan’s Disability Act 2012 addresses mainstreaming and inclusive education.
Note on UNESCO IICBA Research. IICBA recently launched a new program of applied research on teacher and education issues in Africa. A total of 200 publications have been completed from January to September 2023, including studies, discussion papers, training guides, reports, knowledge briefs, event summaries, and interviews. Several of those publications focus on South Sudan. All publications are available on IICBA’s website.
Country Policies
Information on South Sudan’s education system and policies is available on the website of the Ministry of Education which covers basic and secondary education. The Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology is responsible for higher and technical education and vocational training (TVET). The General Education Strategic Plan (2017-2022) is the flagship policy guiding the sector. The National Inclusive Education Policy 2020 establishes the structure for the development, implementation, and enforcement of inclusive education programs and practices in learning institutions within the country. UNESCO IIEP’s South Sudan Education Sector Analysis: Planning for Resilience (2017) provides a comprehensive sector analysis.
South Sudan does not have a teaching service commission. [GM1]
A few organizations aim to capture education policies on specific themes across countries, including South Sudan. UNESCO’s Profiles Enhancing Education Reviews (PEER) covering the themes of the Global Education Monitoring reports, including: inclusion in education (2020 Report), non-state actors in education (2021/22 Report), technology in education (2023 Report) and leadership in education (2024/25 Report, forthcoming). PEER also covers additional topics on key SDG 4 issues, including financing for equity, climate change communication and education, and comprehensive sexuality education.
Knowledge Repositories
Only a few links to the literature on education by theme for South Sudan, Africa, and globally were provided earlier to keep the brief short, but repositories of digital resources facilitate access to the literature. A few of those repositories are listed below by alphabetical order:
- 3ie Development Evidence Portal (DEP): DEP is a repository of rigorous evidence on what works in international development, including in the area of education.
- AERD: The African Education Research Database hosted by the Faculty of Education at the University of Cambridge collates research by African scholars on education.
- African Development Bank: The Bank has publications that cover a range of topics, including education. It also hosts ADEA which also has selected publications.
- Global Partnership for Education: GPE is one of the largest funders for education in Africa. It collaborates with Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) to build and mobilize evidence on education through the Global Partnership for Education Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (GPE KIX), which has a Library of research outputs.
- J-PAL: The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab maintains a database of impact evaluations and policy publications, quite a few of which are about education.
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics is a large archive of research on economics, including the economics of education. It can be searched through IDEAS.
- Teacher Task Force (TTF): The TTF is collaborative across many organizations hosted by UNESCO. It maintains a Knowledge Hub with resources on teacher policies.
- UNESCO HQ: UNESCO is the lead agency in the UN systems on education. Its Digital Library includes UNESCO Open Access which includes most UNESCO publications.
- UNESCO GEM: UNESCO publishes annually a Global Education Monitoring Report on a different theme each year with associated resources and background papers.
- UNESCO IICBA: IICBA is a Category 1 Institute at UNESCO. It conducts research on education in Africa with several publication series and maintains a digital repository.
- UNICEF: Publications can be found under Reports, the Office of Global Insight and Policy, and the Office of Research. Also of interest is the Data Must Speak initiative.
- World Bank: The Open Knowledge Repository provides access to the Bank’s research. It includes a section on Africa with country pages including for South Sudan.
Many organizations maintain websites that include country pages with useful information. Examples include the GPE South Sudan Country Page; World Bank South Sudan Country Page; UNESCO IIEP Country Page. Many organizations also maintain blogs on education issues, often with stories on Africa. Examples include Education for All (Global Partnership for Education), Education for Global Development (World Bank), Education Plus Development (Brookings Institutions), and World Education Blog (UNESCO). Beyond blogs focusing on education, blogs on Africa more generally may also provide useful resources. This includes Africa Can End Poverty and Nasikiliza (the World Bank’s two blogs for sub-Saharan Africa ) and Arab Voices (the Bank’s blog for the Middle East and North Africa).
Data
It is often useful to download data for South Sudana and other countries from multi-country databases. The largest database on development, including education data, is the World Bank’s World Development Indicators (WDI). The World Bank also maintain the Education Statistics (EdStats) database. Both World Bank databases rely in part for education on data from the UNESCO Institute of Statistics. UNESCO also maintains the Global Education Observatory and the World Inequality Database in Education (WIDE), as well as a wide range of other databases. Specific estimates are occasionally maintained by other agencies. For example, UNICEF provides data on out-of-school rates, adjusted net attendance rates, completion rates, foundational learning skills, information communication technology skills, youth and adult literacy rates, and school-age digital connectivity. Another useful reference is StatCompiler which provides data at various levels of aggregation from Demographic and Health Surveys across countries and over time, including South Sudan. For comparison purposes, data from the OECD for member and partner countries (including South Africa) can be useful.
References
References are available through the links provided in this brief. We would also like to acknowledge Mr. Mabor Tor and other colleagues at the Ministry of Education and Instruction for their valuable advice during the validation process of this document.