Where We Work : Southern Sudan : Education

Second-chance primary schools

If you are a young girl living in Southern Sudan today, you only have a 1% chance of completing your primary school education. This means that every year, only 500 girls complete Grade 8 from the 64,000 young girls who are eligible. Out of 500 girls, only half will be taught by a trained teacher. As a result, nearly 90% of women in Southern Sudan are illiterate.

In response, BRAC is establishing and operating ‘second chance’ primary schools for children who have dropped out, or have never attended school in the war torn region of Southern Sudan.

The goal of BRAC’s  programme is to help these children join the formal government school system. Our ambition is to open and run 1,000 schools in the region.

Currently, we have 120 schools serving more than 3,300 girls and boys. Potential women teachers are selected from the communities and receive an on-going extensive teacher training.

Main features of our approach:

• School timing flexibility
• Targets 8-14 year olds – who never enrolled or dropped out
• Schools based close to students' homes
• Small class sizes managed by female teachers
• Little or no homework
• Child friendly teaching environment
• Basic education plus relevant life skills like health, agriculture
• Zero financial cost for students or guardians
• Close involvement of parents and communities in school management

We admit 30 to 35 children per school, and employ one teacher for the four-year school cycle. We follow the Government Primary School Curriculum.

We also help promote increased female participation in education – both as students and teachers.