To provide education for children who lost access to school facilities as a result of conflict, a local non-governmental organization (NGO) handed over temporary learning spaces to the government in Bentiu, Unity State today.

Aliab Rural Development Agency (ARUDA) established the learning spaces, in which 3,000 children are currently enrolled, as part of an education project initiated in October 2015.

According to Mercy Achieng Alara, an education and child protection officer with the ARUDA Bentiu Field Office, four temporary learning spaces were erected using local available materials.

UNICEF, under its Education in Emergency programme, supported ARUDA in the project during which 35 teachers also received training on psychosocial support.

“During the implementation of the project, a total of 62 households were visited as part of a Back-to School campaign,” said Ms. Alara.

She added that 40 members of Parent Teacher Associations were trained on their roles and responsibilities to enable them to help in the management of the schools.

Ms. Alara noted that although the schools were handed over to the government, the NGO and other partners would continue to support the initiative.

Matthew Mpitapita, a representative of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the state, said there had been a significant rise in the number of children enrolled in the emergency school project.

Mr. Mpitapita called for collective action, stressing that it was required to ensure a high quality of education.

“Being at war is difficult … but still children are going to school and parents are sending (them) to school,” he said. “Now that we have opened the schools, the next step is to make sure that the education we provide is of a good quality and that calls the collective effort from all partners.”

Noting that a safe and secure environment was vital for parents to send their children to school, Mr. Mpitapita called on the state government to ensure security for the population.

The State Minister of Education, Science and Technology, Yanes Gatluack Hok, said there were still a lot of challenges faced in providing education because of the impact of conflict.

“We have a lot of things to be done in the Ministry of Education; but we lack the capacity,” said Mr. Hok, calling for continued support from humanitarian organizations.