Fr. Avelino's Urgent Plea in Fighting “Free Mentality Syndrome” to Revive Education in Western Equatoria State
Fr. Avelino's Urgent Plea in Fighting “Free Mentality Syndrome” to Revive Education in Western Equatoria State
By Sr. Henriette Anne, FSSA
As the South Sudan Certificate of Primary Education (CDPE), and Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE) exams for 2023 are set to begin on Monday, November 20th, and on December 4th, 2023 respectively, Fr. Avelino the Parish Priest of Ave Maria Ngboko Catholic Mission (Rii-Yubu) shared his concern on the state of the education stressing that if they fail to support the education system, they will harm future generations.
Fr. Avelino said that this year, three counties have very few secondary schools, “Western Equatoria State may have many secondary schools, but at least the western part of the State, the traditional Catholic side (Tambura, Ezo and Nagero Counties) has very few secondary schools. This year there are 33 students indexed for S-4 exams, 29 from our secondary school in Ave Maria and only 4 from Tombura. I agree, that if we leave education down, we shall harm future generations”.
Tombura, only four students are registered for the national exams, an alarming number. The situation in Ave Maria was slightly better, with 29 students, but this was still a cause for concern. The impact of recent inter-communal conflicts has further exacerbated the situation, threatening the region's educational future.
“Tombura had been affected very much by the recent inter-communal conflicts. The impact will be long-lasting as things stand. Now, having 33 candidates for senior four examinations in the whole region of the greater west is worrisome unless Naandi has some candidates. Indeed, there is a lot that needs to be done in terms of the quantity as well as the quality of education in the Western part of our diocese and state”.
He lamented, “It is sad that the whole county of Tombura has such few numbers of 33 registered students for the national exam. Bishop Abangite alone has registered candidates totaling 185 students. However, the number of students joining university is quite very few. I didn't know what is their targets for joining secondary schools. Maybe they are contented with secondary certificates. Much needs to be done”.
He explained that in the 90’s, the center of education shifted, leaving the western region feeling the effects. As the central and eastern parts of the state flourished, the western side saw a decline in educational opportunities. The very essence of what the region had been known for seemed to be slipping away.
“From the 90s, the center of education shifted from the West to Central and Eastern parts of the state. Otherwise, the West part was very much known for education”.
Fr. Diko recalls in 2016 when he was appointed as acting Parish Priest of Regina Mundi Ezo County how some areas had no functional or sustainable secondary schools, and some didn’t even have full primary. The stark reality of the situation was undeniable.
“I realized this in 2016 when I was assigned as the acting parish priest of Regina Mundi Ezo Catholic parish. I realized that the whole of Ezo County and Source Yubu Payam had no functional and sustainable secondary schools (both public and private/church ). Some parts didn't even have full primary schools, currently, and I think only Naandi and Ngboko have secondary schools”, he narrated.
Fr. Hume further said, “Currently, there are no teachers for the Secondary school in Naandi. Therefore, there may not be any candidate. The diocesan office of education was notified of this situation a long time ago and the recent picture of the school shows something else is studying in the school”, he continued, “if this is the case, then the whole of "across Ringasi " has only 33 candidates this academic year. This is a very small percentage in comparison to the high population of that region”.
In the quest to understand and address these issues, one question looms large, why are most educational institutions not sustainable in the region? The answer lies in what Fr. Avelino described as a “Free Mentality Syndrome”. The expectation of free education has taken root, making it difficult to maintain these vital institutions.
“We have to ask ourselves a few basic questions: why are most of our educational institutions not sustainable? One of the findings would be that of free mentality syndrome, as pointed out by Fr. Morris. There is no way we can sustain our educational institutions without cost sharing. This principle can be applied to other institutions as well”.
He added, “Does it mean that our community is so poor that they can't afford to pay or it is we who orient them to think that way? In my view, we partly contribute to that free-things mentality. For example, if we can still give people free rosaries to this date, then that is the way we are orienting them”.
“But, in a real sense, any program cannot be sustained without money. This is worse for any educational institution, more research with action points needs to be carried out. We need to evaluate our ways of offering services to God's people so that we can be able to move with the changes (both challenges and opportunities) in the world now”.
“Let me share my experience with you dear brothers on this matter in Ezo. We had a secondary school that was running, then there came a moment where the director for education in Ezo County mistakenly communicated the free education system in South Sudan the government is applying, all the students, pupils, and parents clapped happily to hear that no more paying school fees. It cost us vehemently, the students refused to pay the 5,000 SSP tuition fee, teachers had nothing to lean upon, and so the school closed. The free syndrome mentality won. But how far will it help us in the future? It has taken us over 4 months now to explain to the parents and students the disadvantages of free education, most of the students even don't go to any secondary school anymore. We have a lot of work to do. Otherwise, other people have gone too far in education as we are sleeping", Fr. William narrated.
In an online interview with Fr. Luke Yugue, the Parish Priest of Nazareth Parish in Nagero, confirmed that there is no secondary school in Nagero since the time memorial, the school which was existing was St. Genevive and collapsed during the war.
On his part, Fr. William Abbas, during the interview confirmed that in Ezo County, they have only one secondary school and the students are in senior-3, Regina academy was closed some time back due to different issues but they have the plans of opening it next year.
