海角大神

At the chiming of small hand bells, 100听teachers-in-training at the Yei听Teacher Training College (YTTC) shuttle between lectures on education philosophy, mathematics, and English. There are no holidays here 鈥� seats are filled year round 鈥� and classes run from听9 am to 5 pm.

"Not even a second听lost," read signs posted in the classrooms and along shady walkways.

The urgency is clear.听South Sudan has one of the worst听teacher听shortages in the world, with fewer than 45 percent of its primary school听teachers having had formal training, UNESCO states. The effect can be seen nationally in the fact that more than 70 percent of adults are illiterate.

To compound the problem, the country's civil war, now in its second year, has forced hundreds of thousands of children out of school as teachers go unpaid, families flee their homes, and school buildings are occupied or destroyed by armed groups.

Despite the disruptions, YTTC has managed to avoid closure since it opened more than a decade ago. At the time, the south was still mired in a bloody independence struggle against the Arab north. Since then, the college, tucked near the borders of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, has grown into the leading teacher training institution in South Sudan, battling poor perceptions of teachers, meager resources, and a lack of education funding from the government.

To the people of YTTC, education is too important to wait for peace.

"Education is very, very central to reconstruction of any country. Without teachers we cannot have better education 鈥� that is where we shape the nation," says James Kepo, YTTC's principal who, like his colleagues, believes that an investment in teachers is an investment in the future of the country.

鈥淚 think even in times of war, we need to invest in people,鈥� says Mr. Kepo. 鈥淟ife must continue."

A neverending war

The听teacher听shortage here dates to South Sudan鈥檚 22-year war for independence that killed some 2 million people before peace was reached in 2005.

"The听teachers听of those years either died or they joined the [rebel] movement," says Edward Kokole, director of听teacher听education in South Sudan's Education Ministry.
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Whoever was available stepped in, like Paul Malual, a 28-year-old who started teaching听15 years ago 鈥� before he finished high school.
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"There was no qualified听teacher," says Mr. Malual. "It was for some of the children to teach the others."

YTTC didn't wait to start, either. The college,听established in an area liberated by the southern rebels,听welcomed its first students in 2002 with backing by local churches, foreign donors, and the rebels' civilian administration.

Kepo, the college principal, was a South Sudanese听teacher听in exile in Uganda at the time. He recalls sneaking across the border to help in liberated Yei, where conditions were dire and students learned in a single brick building.

"When you came down here ... I mean, you get moved because things were very pathetic," he says.

Today it's hard to imagine that past.

The school graduates 100 qualified teachers a year, more than any of the other 11听teacher听training institutions (TTIs) in the country. But it faces a huge challenge:听only one-third of South Sudan's 28,000听teachers听are qualified, according to the National Ministry of Education. With 1.8 million students nationwide, there are more than 200 pupils for every qualified听teacher. To bring that ratio to just 50 students per certified听teacher听means training more than 26,000听teachers.

New trainees have access to some of the best resources in the country. YTTC's science laboratory, in a sprawling campus of mango trees and classrooms blocks, rivals those in some American public schools. An Internet-connected computer lab has 50 flat-screen computers. Students,听hailing from all over South Sudan as well as parts of Uganda and Sudan,听can check out books from a 20,000-volume library, and take courses in music and art.

At YTTC, the focus is on instructing听teachers听in modern "learner-centered"听teaching strategies 鈥� a departure from the rote drilling commonly practiced in East Africa. Tutors challenge听teachers-in-training to adjust their lesson plans rather than cane misbehaving students. "Inclusion," the听teaching听of all students together regardless of disability, is standard.

"This college, it made me to know that there are other people with special needs like eye impairment, slow learners," says Chandia Agnes, at 29 a four-year classroom veteran who is now more than halfway through her certificate course.

What first began as a mission of nation-building has now turned into a mission of survival. YTTC's commitment to high quality instruction is a far cry from government support for education.

Just 5.5 percent of South Sudan's latest budget went to education last year, compared to 42 percent for security and military. The five government-run TTIs are currently closed due to lack of funding.

"Over the years everyone talks of education being a priority, but then that is not matched to the budget," Kepo says.

Earning a national respect听

The difficult lifestyle听teachers听face post-graduation is also undercutting the already small investment put into them. Even though YTTC graduates are often directly hired as head听teachers听or school inspectors because of their high qualifications, those who make it into the classroom often don't stay long.

Part of the problem is that many South Sudanese do not believe that听teaching听is a respectable career, Kepo says.

"They think it is not a specialized profession."

The pay is abysmal too. Government school听teachers听earn less than fifty dollars a month, and are rarely paid on time. In the last year, salaries听in some states听went unpaid so the government could fund the war effort.

Indeed听with skills in English and computers on their resume, many YTTC graduates opt to work for higher paying foreign NGOs.

For those willing to stay in the profession, none will have the resources available in Yei, including things as basic as electricity or four walls and a roof. Some will teach under trees, their students scratching letters and numbers with sticks in the dirt.

YTTC听teacher听Dora Avoka tries to prepare her students for that reality, adding that the most important skill for new听teachers听is the ability to improvise.
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"Even if it is under the mango tree," she tells her students, "that very place should turn into a classroom."
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Mr. Kokole, from the education ministry, says South Sudan needs to adopt a new policy in听teacher听management 鈥� ensuring qualified听teachers听have the salaries, benefits, and supervision they need to keep them from leaving the profession.

"We don't have a big supply of secondary school leavers across the country who are ready to come for [teacher] training," he says. "But once the听teacher management is improved,听teachers听are motivated and given high salaries, then there will be attraction."

It is hard to implement such a change with the current civil war, a conflict that has killed tens of thousands since December 2013, continuing to听burn听in the background. Some new听teachers听can't return to their communities, and听diversion of donor funds听to deal with humanitarian needs near the front lines has forced the college听to shelve a new dormitory that would have doubled the student body.

But the college鈥檚 history and continued perseverance shows parts of South Sudan can develop even during wartime.

"People are supposed to hold their destiny and hold their institutions and work hard," says Kepo. "Many people who think South Sudanese cannot do [these] things, they are wrong."

For Malual, the young man who had to start听teaching听classes in his community as a teen, attending YTTC, where he is now working toward his听teacher听certificate, is calling. He knows he can take this training back to his community.

"This is my career," he says after a class on behavior management. "I want to be a professional in my field."