Local Government and Secondary Education Service Delivery in Yambio County, South Sudan

ABSTRACT The study was entitled “Local Government and Secondary Education Service Delivery in Yambio County, South Sudan.” It investigated the performance of the Yambio County local government in its delivery of secondary education. Its objectives were: to establish the influence of the local government on deployment and management of teachers in secondary schools, to assess the local government’s role in the mobilization and allocation of resources, to evaluate the role of the local government in the formulation and implementation of secondary school education policy, and to determine the extent of the provision of secondary school infrastructure by the local government in Yambio County. It involved a qualitative research approach with an exploratory design. There were 398 respondents. The respondents included local education authorities, teachers, students and parents. The study found that the local government was directly responsible for the deployment and management of teachers, the mobilization and allocation of resources, and contributes to the formulation and implementation of secondary school education policy. While the local government has to a great extent provided some basic infrastructure for secondary schools in the county, a lot still needs to be done to increase and improve the quality of classrooms and toilets, as well as facilities for extra-curricular activities. The county is also yet to provide friendly infrastructure for teachers and students with disability in its secondary schools. It should focus on the recruitment and deployment of suitably qualified teachers within secondary schools, and increase the number of qualified teachers recruited and deployed. Salaries should be increased and paid out on monthly basis to enable teachers make ends meet and improve work morale. Textbooks, science laboratories and equipment be provided to augment the quality of teaching. Appointment/recruitment of teachers and other staff be based on merit, to avoid influence by politicians and family ties. The local government should consider offering sponsorship to all students, in the form of universal secondary education. The study recommends the immediate start of accountability measures to fight/combat the rampant corruption within the secondary education sector.