SSIRI Programs A Success Despite Few Challenges

12 November 2010 – (Juba) – The Southern Sudan Interactive Radio Instructions, or SSIRI, education programs have impacted positively the lives of school-going children and teachers in southern Sudan despite a few challenges.

SSIRI is one of the seven alternative education programs established in 2004 by the GOSS Ministry to help accelerate learning where there are few teachers and hardly any learning materials.

The program is being implemented by USAID.

Sebit Evans, the senior outreach coordinator for SSIRI in Lainya county spoke to SRS on Thursday in Juba.

[Sebit Evans]: “We established these programs to supplement the normal education system. Because of the war we know that so many people missed to go to school at the rightful age and also the way that we know we don’t have enough teachers. Here we know that Juba being the capital city of southern Sudan, we think that at least there is a good number of teachers, but then, even if it has good number of teachers not all of them are professional teachers. We think that SSIRI does not only help the children alone but also the teachers.”

Awori Emanuel, the senior outreach coordinator for Yei county says some schools listen to the programs although there are challenges of timing.

[Awori Emmanuel]: “Despite the fact that the program is going on well, there are challenges facing the teacher. The program is timed. The learning village for primary one starts at nine exactly especially in Kajokeji. There are cases where teachers report late for their lessons. Once the teacher arrives late in the school then he may not be able to catch up with the time. The pupils really enjoy the programs. Sometimes when the teacher is not available they go to the staff room and request for the radio.”

The Inspector for Alternative Education in the Central Equatoria state’s ministry of Education, Lazarus Franco, encouraged schools to continue using the programs.

The SSIRI programs are played on 98.6 SRS FM targeting primary school pupils from class one to class four.