By Awan Aciek & Michael Tapeng
A total of 32,167 candidates in South Sudan have started sitting for Certificates of Secondary Education examinations in 107 centres across the country.
The numbers of eligible candidates who are sitting for this year are 21,799 boys and 10,368 girls.
The launch of the examinations was officiated by Vice-President for Service Custer, Hussein Abdelbagi Akol.
Speaking during the launch of exams at Juba Technical Secondary School this morning in Juba, Abdelbagi warned students against examinations malpractice.
“I have come here this [Wednesday] morning to launch the starting of South Sudan Secondary Examinations. I would like to encourage the candidates to sit for all the examinations and work hard in faith and integrity.
“I would like to appeal to you the candidates of South Sudan Certificate of Secondary Education to help us, the government to fight examinations malpractices in the country,” Abdelbagi told candidates during the launch of exams in Juba on Wednesday.
Emmanuel Adil Anthony, Governor of Central Equatoria State wished the candidates the best of luck as they take their Chemistry and Commerce papers today.
“One of the secrets of passing examinations is determination and managing time. I want to advise you to manage your time as you sit for this particular paper and with determination, you will pass these examinations. Therefore, to you the students here representing all the students in South Sudan, I want to wish you the best of luck and I hope you are going to pass these examinations with flying colours,” he said.
“I know these candidates are our future as a nation because without education, no nation will prosperous well and we are determined on that line toward that direction,” Adil added.
Simon Nyok Deng, Secretary-General of the National Examinations Council disclosed that heavy security has been deployed across the country to ensure that examinations malpractices and leakages are prevented.
“We have set up ways and means to ensure secure conduct of these examinations and that is why I said before that we have deployed to every storage station officer of national security and security have been beefed up across the country,” Deng said.
“We are glad that we have reached this day and the students are going to start the examinations now. We had registered a total of 32,167 candidates nationwide and we have delivered all the examination consignments to all the stations across the country. And nationwide we have 340 secondary schools that have presented candidates for this year’s exams. So far, all the exams have reached all the stations across the 10 states and three administrative areas and we expect all the candidates to start their examinations now,” he said.
“All 320 secondary schools will be clustered into 107 examinations centres and we have only 38 storage stations nationwide and every station, we have deployed monitors from the national ministry of education and from the national examination secretarial together with the team from the national security,” he said.
