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Sudan

South Sudan education sector to benefit from Japan's support

Juba, 07 March 2008 - A Japanese grant of 8.7 million dollars to the UN refugee agency will make it possible for hundreds of teachers to be formally trained in the next three years, the Embassy of Japan and UNHCR jointly announced today in Juba.

With this funding, Japan will be supporting the construction of a national Teacher Training Institute (TTI) in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, and a State-level TTI in Aweil, the state capital of Northern Bahr-el-Ghazal. Along with these TTIs, the project will also cover the building of five satellite primary schools where teachers in training will conduct classes as part of their hands on experience.

The Juba TTI will be designed to serve as a centre of national excellence in Mathematics and Science. It will have the capacity to train three hundred teachers, while the one in Aweil will prepare another one hundred and twenty qualified teachers also in the areas of Science and Technology. In addition, the programme will benefit some 1,600 children who will be attending the five satellite primary schools.

Japan's contribution comes under the "Programme for Construction of Education Facilities in South Sudan for Integrating Returnees and Empowering Host Communities". The project funding, approved by the Japanese Government on 26 February, will run from March 2008.

Ambassador Yuichi Ishii and UNHCR Representative Chrysantus Ache held a signing ceremony formalising the grant in Juba on Friday. The ceremony was hosted by the Minister for Education, Science and Technology of the Government of Southern Sudan, Professor Job Dhuruai and attended by Ms. Ameerah Haq, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan,

Upon the signing, Ambassador Ishii said" these institutions are expected to be the core for the community recovery and development through enhancement of basic education with quality".

"I hope this initiative, however modest in its start, will serve for the recovery of the Southern Sudan, and be the role model programme on the enhancement of Human Security not only for the Southern Sudan but for all post-conflict countries in Africa", he added.

In addition to UNHCR, the project also involves UNICEF, the education sector lead. In coordination with this project, school feeding assistance by WFP and income generation assistance through school gardening by FAO are expected.

"The programmes developed by the UN and Partners for the education sector are aligned to achieve the Ministry of Education , Science and Technology's overall goal of ensuring equitable access to quality education services for sustainable development. Therefore, the initiative by the Government of Japan to establish teacher training institutions in South Sudan is timely and is highly appreciated by the Government, the UN and partners, and local stakeholders. From a UNHCR perspective, it represents a vital and consequential contribution in the quest to make return to South Sudan sustainable", Mr. Ache said.

The South Sudan Ministry of Education, Science and Technology aims to have 10,000 fully qualified teachers by the year 2011.

END

For further information, please contact:

Keiko Suzuki,
Aid Coordination Office,
Embassy of Japan in Khartoum,
Tel: +249 1834 71601
E-mail:keiko.suzuki-2@mofa.go.jp

Fatoumata Kaba, UNHCR spokesperson
Tel: +249 912 178 199
E-mail: kaba@unchr.org