International Development Minister, Lynne Featherstone, will see the first set of school textbooks UK aid is providing to two million children in South Sudan later today.
As part of her first visit as Minister for International Development, Lynne Featherstone said ahead of the launch in Juba, South Sudan:
“These textbooks will help two million children become the literate and skilled young people South Sudan needs to better support itself long-term.
“Education is fundamental to everything we do - it is the key to a country’s development and beating poverty and it is the greatest investment we can make. It is right that we use our aid to help the people of South Sudan to build a better future for themselves and their communities.
“The UK will continue to support the South Sudan government as it develops its education policies and hopes to increase the number of children who finish basic primary and secondary education.”
This marks the ongoing commitment Britain and South Sudan have towards the children of the world’s newest country.
Nearly two years after gaining independence, South Sudan still faces enormous challenges and many schools lack even basic resources. Only 40 per cent of children start primary school with fewer than one in ten completing primary school. This prevents the poorest from pulling themselves out of poverty.
In the coming months, 9.3 million school text books on a range of subjects will be distributed in time for the new school year in 2013. They will go to primary schools and alternative education centres, which have been set up for those who had previously dropped out of the education system and will benefit around two million children.
Evidence shows that education transforms countries and societies. An extra year of quality schooling lifts a country’s annual economic growth by 1 per cent and educated children are also able to take better care of their families and find greater employment opportunities in adulthood.