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UN expert decries high illiteracy rates in S. Sudan

Xinhua, September 10, 2016 Adjust font size:

South Sudan has one of the lowest literacy rates in the world as only 15 percent women and 40 percent men of the country's 12 million population are able to read or write, a UNESCO expert said on Friday.

Dr. Awol Endris Adem, UNESCO South Sudan Education Specialist, said data from the country's 2008 census shows alarming indicators of illiteracy rates and that those figures could have worsened following eruption of civil war in 2013.

"When we consider the 27 percent aggregate number of the 2008 South Sudan census, it means literacy level is 15 percent for women and 40 percent for men. Because of this, South Sudan very unfortunately is considered to be lowest in the world in terms of literacy," Adem told Xinhua in Juba.

He said the country's problems spanned from protracted conflicts, lack of investment in education infrastructure, and under funding of the education system, adding that the December 2013 conflict inflicted a heavy toll on South Sudan's education sector.

"The December 2013 civil war has aggravated the situation even more because resources that should have gone into education, health and other services might have been channeled into the conflict," Adem said.

"So all these combined have resulted in a kind of very decimal literacy and other education indicators for South Sudan," he added.

South Sudan's education indicators remain among the worst in the world. Official data from the ministry of education shows annual allocation to education stood at 7 percent for 2013-2014.

A report by UN children's agency (UNICEF) released early this month said South Sudan is the second country in the world after Liberia with the highest proportion of out-of-school children.

Adem said collective efforts involving government, civil society organizations and the private sector need to be put in place to reduce the high illiteracy rates in the world's youngest nation.

"We should work together and work much harder than now. We should create opportunities for South Sudanese youth and adults to enroll into literacy classes and the South Sudanese must lead the drive to teach their fellow citizens. It is a collective responsibility, and UNESCO shall remain a partner in this all the way," he said. Enditem