‘Not yet Uhuru’: Interpreting the Education System in Post-Independence South Sudan

Abstract

South Sudan’s independence in July 2011 came with a euphoric promise to break with the Sudan’s culturaldomination, epitomised by the latter’s education system. Yet, despite the introduction of the national curriculum,South Sudan, as a part of the modern Sudan for decades, is struggling to rid itself of the colonial education system.This article examines the persistence of foreign education in post-independence South Sudan. The complexities ofthe foreign education are intertwined with the concurrent political and economic upheavals that have bedevilled theworld’s youngest nation. The national curriculum is encumbered by government underfunding ofeducation-associated with a poorly performing economy exacerbated by conflict. Underinvestment in education haswider implications for the provision of learning resources and teacher training. South Sudan’s continuous reliance onforeign schooling curricula implies that its education system is not yet ‘free’ and independent. Most importantly, inthe context of the renewed conflict, the lack of the national curriculum is critical for South Sudan’s nation-buildingagenda. The evidence in this article has implications for improving educational policy and practice in South Sudanand other similar post-conflict African countries.