2.1 The education system
In South Sudan, TVET is provided in formal, non-formal and informal settings, and it aims to equip youth and adults with the qualifications needed to meet the economic and social development challenges of the country. The characteristics of the TVET subsector can be discussed in the context of the wider formal education system (see Figure 4).
Figure 4: The Formal Education System of South Sudan
University/College
education In-service teacher
training Pre-service teacher training
Vocational/technical education and training
(includes technical secondary education) Secondary school
Senior 1 (S1) to Senior 4 (S4)
Primary school Primary 1 (P1) to Primary 8 (P8)
Pre-primary school Beginner to Graduate Source: MoEST (2014).
The education sector has seen a substantial growth over the past decade or so. Between 2000 and 2009, primary school enrolments increased from around 0.3 million to around 1.4 million. Over the same period, the primary school gross enrolment rate rose from 21 per cent in 2000 to 72 per cent in 2009. Over aged students, repetition and dropping-out are widespread in primary education. Only around 26 per cent of the students complete grade 6 of the primary education cycle.
Official data for secondary education are less complete, but enrolments at this level have at least doubled since 2005 (World Bank, 2012, pp. 1–3). Dropout rates at the secondary school level also appear to be very high.
According to the 2013 educational management information system (EMIS) data, only 2,563 students reached the final (fourth) year of the secondary school programme out of an intake of 19,077 in the first year. The low capacity at the secondary school level coupled with the high dropout rates underscore the need to expand or operationalize the existing facilities for TVET in order to address, at least partially, the skills needs of the large numbers of students who drop out of the general education system.
Table 8: Secondary School Completers and Completion Rate by State and Gender, 2009
All Male Female
State Comp. Comp. rate Comp. Comp. rate Comp. Comp. rate
South Sudan 3.230 1.9% 2.492 2.80% 738 0.9%
Upper Nile 197 1.0% 174 1.50% 23 0.3%
Jonglei 40 0.1% 36 0.20% 4 0.0%
Unity 125 1.1% 101 1.70% 24 0.4%
Warrap 103 0.5% 93 1.00% 10 0.1%
Northern Bahr El Ghazal – – – – – –
Western Bahr El Ghazal 414 6.8% 356 10.80% 58 2.1%
Lakes 218 1.5% 211 2.80% 7 0.1%
Western Equatoria 1.382 5.5% 934 7.20% 448 3.7%
Central Equatoria 310 1.3% 244 1.90% 66 0.5%
Eastern Equatoria 441 3.5% 343 5.30% 98 1.6%
Source: EMIS Report 2010, MoEI
Gender inequalities are widespread in the education system. The gender gap is wider in secondary and higher education than in primary. In 2009, girls made up 37 per cent of total enrolments in primary schools, 27 per cent in secondary schools, and 24 per cent in higher education. Furthermore, young women comprised 24 per cent of these studying in teacher training institutes (World Bank, 2012, p. 54).
Wide disparities in the chances that a child will ever enrol in primary school can also be found between urban and rural children as well as rich and poor children. The two most important reasons provided for nonattendance are cost of schooling and distance to school. For urban children, the main reason for non-attendance is the cost of schooling. For rural children, the main reason is distance to school (World Bank, 2012, pp. 51–4).
In the 15–40 age group, an estimated 2.2 million (out of a total of about 3.2 million) are non-literate and could benefit from literacy training. Although literacy rates have improved over time, most non-literate individuals are at the younger end of this age group because of South Sudan’s strong population growth and young population (World Bank, 2012, p. 60).
2.2 The provision of TVET in South Sudan
The study of technologies and related sciences and the acquisition of practical skills, attitudes and knowledge relating to occupations in various sectors of economic and social life are organized by a broad range of providers:
Vocational education is currently offered at five public secondary technical schools under MoEST:
technical secondary schools in Juba and Wau, commercial secondary schools in Juba and Wau, and an agricultural secondary school in Wau. Several other schools are not operational as a result of severe damage and the conflict situation in the country. According to the Directorate of TVET at MoEST, on the average only about 400 students are enrolled in the TVET stream every year out of a total secondary educational intake of about 18,000;
Vocational training is provided through a network of five public VTCs, operating under the aegis of MoLPSHRD. The VTCs offer both short (3–6 months) and long-term (up to 2 years) courses. These courses target mainly unemployed individuals, returnees and internally displaced persons;
A short-term (3 months) vocational training programme for ex-combatants was piloted in mid-2013 by the National Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Commission (NDDRC) and UNESCO. The first group of 292 people were trained in Mapel, Western Bahr el Ghazal State before the beginning of the crisis in December 2013. The overall plan was initially to train 150,000 ex-combatants in ten centres nationwide. The programme was funded mainly by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS);
TVET programmes and courses of different natures (informal, non-formal and formal) are also offered by several other ministries, including MoCYS (which is currently operating three youth training centres in Juba, Wau and Malakal), the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Petroleum and Mining, and the Ministry of Transport and Bridges.
Numerous NGOs are implementing or plan to implement different kinds of TVET programmes (informal, non-formal and formal in basic occupational skills training), among them Norwegian People Aid, the Norwegian Refugee Council, Plan International, and Women for Women International. It is important to put a key focus on analysing the strengths and weaknesses, and also the successes and failures, of these different initiatives. This analysis needs to be done by both NGOs and at the ministerial level, and this is seen as a necessary step to effectively and efficiently plan future TVET initiatives.
2.3 Public–private partnerships in TVET
There are no formal partnerships between training providers and local industry in the provision of TVET. The only types of partnership are those involving NGO and church-based TVET providers and their external donor partners, who provide considerable funding for physical infrastructure development and the procurement of training facilities.
A typical example is the St Vincent de Paul VTC on the outskirts of Juba, which is funded by the St Vincent de Paul missionary society. A problem with an over-reliance on external partners is that the institution might have to close should the partner withdraw its support. This is a risk which needs to be managed.
2.4 Workplace learning and apprenticeship
Traditional apprenticeships a mode of delivery for vocational training that is common in many other African countries are rare in South Sudan. Unofficial apprenticeships occur in the fields of carpentry, metalwork and vehicle mechanics.
However, these are usually spontaneous individual efforts by entrepreneurs who have been trained by NGOs.
Policy considerations should extend to making workplaces effective learning environments. It is also necessary to consider the kinds, duration and sequencing of work-based learning in training programmes. Work-based learning needs to be legitimized and understood more fully, its potential contributions elaborated in greater detail, and the means by which it can be effectively enacted more solidly informed.
For example, in its recent Creative Economy Report (2013), UNESCO emphasizes the great potential that apprenticeships in the cultural and creative sectors have for human development.
2.5 Conclusion
The TVET system currently suffers from low capacity in many areas, including system management capacity.
Specifically, the capacity of the TVET system has been reduced by the closure of the majority of the sixty-two public and private TVET centres in the country. There is a need therefore to put in place strategies not only to reopen these institutions but to increase the access and participation especially of rural dwellers. It is also necessary to strengthen the provision in relation to labour market needs, planned infrastructure and agricultural development programmes.
South Sudan is now beginning to feel the effects of its success at increasing enrolment at the primary level, with a growing demand for secondary and higher education.3 According to MoEST officials, there are plans to establish a number of polytechnics in the future, but without support from international donors this is very unlikely to happen anytime soon. A critical analysis should be conducted to discover the impact and sustainability of such an initiative.
3 See also Chapter 1: National socioeconomic context