Why UN Move Will Make Thousands Of South Sudan Students Drop Out Of School
Students and teachers in South Sudan have warned that the suspension of UN food aid will cause thousands of children to drop out of school this year.
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) announced on Tuesday that it was reducing food rations for nearly 6.2 million people in the country, including 178,000 children fed in schools, due to a funding shortage.
“Without that food children cannot come to school,” 16-year-old student Anita Anna Samson told the BBC.
She attends Mayo Girls Primary School in Juba, which is one of the WFP’s feeding program beneficiaries.
“I am appealing to WFP to continue providing the food. Personally I will be affected because my family cannot afford to provide enough food for me. If there is no food, I will not come to school,” she said.
Another student, 17-year-old Ijora Jovian, echoed the program’s significance.
“The school provides for us beans with sorghum and this improves learning because children who don’t have money for breakfast rely on this food and during break time they stay in the school.”
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The school’s deputy head teacher, Thomas Hakim Sebit, agreed that the WFP announcement was “sad news,” as it would affect many of his school’s 700 students.
“If the food is cut off, the children will no longer come to school. I am appealing to WFP and the international community to continue supporting the school-feeding programme,” he said.
The news has already had an impact on enrolment for the new term, which began on Wednesday, with only 350 girls showing up.
Why UN Move Will Make Thousands Of South Sudan Students Drop Out Of School
