VSO appeal for education specialists in South Sudan

VSO is seeking experienced education specialists to volunteer in its new programme in South Sudan and help future generations of children access a good education.
VSO is currently recruiting primary teachers, headteachers, inspectors and education managers to help tackle urgent challenges within education in South Sudan, where only 27% of the adult population is literate and only 37% has ever attended school, falling well below the Millennium Development Goal for education.
While there is huge demand for education in South Sudan, with school enrolments having quadrupled between 2006 and 2009 to 1.6 million, the influx of students is putting pressure on schools where on average there is only one qualified teacher per 100 children.

Following South Sudan's independence in July 2011 after years of war, VSO has been working with the new government to identify ways to implement long-term, efficient systems to strengthen essential services in health, education and civic society.

VSO has developed a range of volunteer placements in the government and training institutions by working closely with the UK's Department for International Development, which is funding the VSO programme, and with the Republic of South Sudan.
Volunteers are urgently required to share their expertise and professional support with South Sudanese teachers and managers, improving the quality of teacher training, education management and developing examination standards and practices.
VSO's country director for South Sudan, Alice Castillejo said the challenge was huge but the focus must be on developing local skills.
She said: "More than 55 years of conflict have denied several generations of South Sudanese basic education and literacy. This provides a frighteningly small pool of people that can become teachers and health workers and has held back the development of the training colleges needed to support this process.
"It is crucial that South Sudan's education service gets the necessary increase in skilled education professionals and this will need a massive effort in re-training existing staff and inspiring new trainees.
"VSO will be working alongside local colleagues to provide mentoring and training to help them deliver education and healthcare, a basic need to build a strong South Sudan."
VSO volunteer Bob Campbell, who has recently returned from South Sudan, said: "This is an exciting opportunity to make a real difference in the world's newest country, working with people who have huge expectations and ambitious plans for their future.
"Volunteers will be using their professional expertise to build capacity for a range of key activities such as teacher training, curriculum development and school inspection. All of our placements have been negotiated carefully, following detailed discussions of needs with senior education officials in South Sudan, ensuring that volunteers will be doing essential work and receiving the support they need."
Keith Shilton, 60, from West Yorkshire, is one of VSO's volunteers heading out to South Sudan. She said:
"I have always wanted to volunteer and I am now in a position to do so, and plan to use my extensive experience as a headteacher in primary schools in the UK to support the South Sudanese in improving education management. I will be working within the Western Equatoria State Ministry of Education to help set up efficient structures and develop teaching skills, knowledge and training."
International Development Minister Stephen O'Brien said: "Decades of war have left South Sudan with a legacy of chronic poverty. Most people have no access to healthcare or education and the new country faces huge challenges in securing a stable and prosperous future.
"Professional volunteers with VSO will undoubtedly help improve the lives of South Sudan's poorest people."
VSO has 50 years' experience tackling poverty in some of the world's poorest countries. They provide all volunteers with a package of support and training, and throughout their placements in South Sudan will monitor the security situation.
Volunteers will be working in the states of Western Bahr El Ghazal, Lakes, and the Eastern, Western and Central Equatoria states in South Sudan. These regions have been chosen to ensure that volunteers safety and security can be managed, avoiding areas with the most conflict and insecure northern states.
In addition to these roles in South Sudan, education professionals can apply for range of placements in Rwanda, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nepal and on the Thailand-Burma border.

http://www.edexec.co.uk/news/1861/vso-appeal-for-education-specialists-in-south-sudan-/