Teachers in Mangala down tools over lack of motivation

Teachers in Mangala IDP camp have downed their tools over what they called “lack of motivation”, Juba Echo has learned.

 Mabior Thon Akol, the headteacher of Ramciel nursery and the primary school told this publication in an interview at Aperping primary school in Mangala on Wednesday that teachers facing a dire economic situation that made them incapacitated and abandon the profession.

“We are committed but some teachers have decided to walk out, teachers have no motivation so we have many teachers quitting their profession, for example, my school which is Ramciel opened with 16 teachers but now we have remained with only 10 teachers,” said Akol while receiving scholastic material from Twic East Girls Scholarship program.

“We are in an emergency and also facing challenges, we are teaching children under trees, temporary shelters which were erected in some places are completely damaged, we are pushing but we are likely to fail, most schools are completely down,” he said.

Mabior said young learners were subjected to harsh weather conditions due to a lack of temporary learning space, noting that the schools keep chalks and blackboards in the neighbourhood.

“Whether it rains or shines, both teachers and pupils are in trouble, they are affected by harsh weather conditions, we even keep school materials including the blackboard in nearby households and the parents have no income to meet schools requirements,” he said.

Dau Akoi Jurkuch, the chairperson of Mangala IDP camp said that the pupils studying in Mangala are suffering, noting that classes operating under trees are interrupted by rains.

“We are suffering in Mangala, we have six primary schools for IDPs but classes are operating under trees when the rain comes, there are no classes, we are likely to lose a generation, there are so many children, the children have no learning space, they are walking naked, we need to support these children because they are the future,” said Jurkuch.

“There is no government providing support, it is the community that is supporting itself, the teachers have no motivation, it is better to give motivation to teachers, you cannot stand in class without energy, we need to support our teachers,” he said.

Abraham Aguer, a 14-year-old primary four pupil decried the situation, saying that when the rain comes, their exercise books are damaged, noting that they have no chairs or benches to sit in their classes.

“We have a lot missing, we have not enough classrooms, the erected classrooms are damaged, we have no shelters, there is no water and we have no toilets, when it rain, it damages our exercise-books, we need temporary learning space that will at least protect us from the rains,” said Aguer.

“We have no benches for sitting, many children sit in classrooms using oil cans or tins. We also have challenges with exercise books, the exercise books we received now will help us this term but next term will be another problem,” he said.

There are six primary schools for IDPs in Mangala: Aperpiny, Ramciel, High Way, Future Hope, Gere primary and Bor Road primary school among many other schools.

Awek Bul Akech, a smiling young girl volunteering for Twic East Girls Scholarship Program said they are running a charity organization to help raise the literacy level in South Sudan, noting that education is the key to a successful life.

“For this country to move forward, we have to empower our kids through education, give them a chance to be able to lead a successful life in future,” said Akech.

“We are running an Australian based charity organization, the purpose is to be able to empower young women to help nurture education and literacy level in South Sudan,” she said.

Garang Atem Ayiik, the chairperson of Twic East Youth Association in Juba said Mangala is one of the only areas they are supporting, noting that the association will extend support to other areas if the resources are available.

“We have few resources and we find Mangala more vulnerable, the little support that we have permitted us to support Mangala, if we get more opportunities in terms of resources we will reach out in terms of support to wherever our people are,” said Ayiik

“As a community, we need to ensure that our people are served and supported, girls are a little bit disadvantaged, our community tends to empower more boys, we are trying to balance the misfortune that has happened in terms of distribution of support,” he said.