By Hou Akot Hou
Northern Bahr El Ghazal State authorities, alongside international development partners, have officially launched a new educational initiative dubbed Play Matters to enhance early childhood learning and support local educators across the state.
The project, which targets 85 selected schools across Aweil East County and the Aweil Town Municipal Council, aims to improve literacy and numeracy skills among young learners while bolstering school retention rates amid ongoing economic hardship.
Speaking to reporters on Monday following the official launch event at the MBC Hotel in Aweil town, the state’s newly appointed Minister of Education, Deng Deng Bol, expressed optimism about the project’s direct approach.
“This project is going to tackle the issue of children who are badly in need of numeracy and literacy,” Bol stated. “It will also help train our educators from selected schools on how to deliver and implement this project’s objectives.”
Minister Bol emphasised that kindergarten teachers and instructors dealing with early-stage learners will be prioritised for capacity-building programs. International partners involved in the initiative will work directly inside schools alongside teachers to deliver hands-on mentorship and improve overall morale.
In addition to teacher training, the initiative aims to address falling school enrollment figures caused by economic pressures across the region. Participating schools will receive learning aids, co-curricular gear, and performance inducements to help engage young beginners and keep them enrolled.
The project is driven by a consortium of international organisations led by the International Rescue Committee (IRC), alongside Plan International and War Child.
Addressing state officials and key stakeholders at the launch, Bernard Manga, Project Manager at the IRC Coordination Office in Northern Bahr El Ghazal, called for strong collaboration between field teams and local authorities to ensure the project achieves its target outcomes.
“In this Play Matters project, we are going to work closely with the Ministry of Education in Northern Bahr El Ghazal,” Manga said. “My request to the Director-General and the County Directors of Education is that we work together to ensure positive impacts are clearly realised in these selected schools.”
With the preliminary administrative frameworks set, training sessions for selected educators are expected to roll out across the designated 85 schools in the coming weeks.