SUDAN: Durable solutions elusive as southern IDPs return and ...

to Juba, preferring to be unemployed in the town – even though their positions in Juba are still
vacant and the clinic is accordingly short of staff – than to remain in the countryside. Similarly,
many of the returnee teachers applying for teaching jobs reportedly want to work only in town.
Serious consideration must be given to the provision of incentives to work in rural areas, including
salary bonuses, accommodation subsidies, loans for construction and transport facilities. The
Ministry has been considering incentives, but this needs money and a change of the salary
structure (after the CPA, salaries were adjusted to eradicate extra allowances). Currently the
approach is to give those who have served in rural areas a period of priority in training
opportunities, once they become available."
Phase II, p.70
"Most teachers are not qualified, and are often students who have completed or even dropped out
of secondary school. Those who come from refugee camps may have a higher standard of
education, but the system lacks teachers who can carry out instruction at a higher level. The
better-qualified prefer to live in urban centres and are rarely seen in rural areas. Trained teachers
are mostly at an advanced age and should retire, but continue working because there is no
retirement scheme. Parents reported that schools have problems paying teachers enough or on
time, demotivating them. Many teachers are still volunteers, and as such are gradually forced to
leave."
Problems with integrating returning teachers in the education system
Phase II, p.24
"In the education sector there is also a lack of clarity about the number of people on the payroll,
and uncertainty about the actual number of teachers needed in each state. This has affected the
Ministry’s capacity to recruit new staff. The federal Ministry of Education, Science and
Technology (MoEST) is currently counting the teachers in all ten states to ensure that a proper
payroll and personnel management system is established and the right people get paid on time,
as well as to facilitate the reintegration of returning teachers. According to the state Ministry of
Education, many returnee teachers are applying for jobs, but because there is no proper
recruitment system many have not been allocated jobs. Teachers’ salaries have been fixed at an
average of $200 a month, awaiting the establishment of a proper payroll and a workable grading
system. Recruitment guidelines are being developed and are awaiting approval by the parliament
and the Council of Ministers."
Returnees are placing further pressure on already overstretched education services
Phase I, p.53
"Although education was a priority among many returnees, services cannot cope with the
demands placed upon them. While some new schools being built in Aweil East, West and North
are of an improved standard, many are still housed in poor and inadequate shelters. As the
number of pupils grows, so more and more classrooms are convening under trees – an image
that unsettles returnees when they first arrive. Returnees are facing overcrowding, long distances
to reach schools, an unfamiliar curriculum, teaching in the English language and a chronic
shortage of secondary schools. There were appeals to help children coming from the north who
were not familiar with English. ‘We don’t mind our children moving from Arabic to English, but
they need help. We just want kids in schools, not looking after cattle’, said a female returnee
based in Gok Machar. The authorities in Aweil Town have had to close their schools to new
admissions, much to the anger of the returning population."
Phase II, p.21
"Overcrowding, especially in government schools, is affecting the quality of education. Buluk, the
largest government primary school, is reported to have over 2,000 students, around half of them
from areas outside CES. There are classes with more than 150 students and no room even to
stand. Many schools are operating mornings and afternoons, with different levels taught together
because of insufficient teachers. This is lowering standards as students from different
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