South Sudanese children attending Akuem Primary School in Northern Bahr El-Ghazal State. This year's International Literacy Day, celebrated on 8 September, is dedicated to "literacies for the 21st century" and highlights the need to realize basic literacy skills for all. According to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), about one million school-age children in South Sudan are out of school and about 2.2 million persons aged between 15 and 40 years are illiterate. While enrolment has increased, the rate for completing eight years of compulsory primary school is low at 30 per cent for boys and and 17 per cent for girls. Photo: UNMISS/Martine Perret. Click for larger image
International Literacy Day
- 09 September 2013
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