2021 Diary: When girls beat odds to hit success button

The stories of the senior four candidates who defied COVID-19 odds to excel in the South Sudan Certificate of Secondary Education 2020 exams are still being told.

The majority of the students hit the bar with high marks as the female candidates excelled more than their male counterparts, breaking the old tradition of output disparity between boys and girls.

However, it remains a concern whether those best-performing students will continue to attend the university due to the economic crisis in the country.

The Minister for Higher Education and Instruction, Awut Deng Acuil, while announcing the results in October, declared Joseph Obwany Okic Nyikang from Joseph Okwaci Secondary School in Upper Nile the best candidate in the 2020 South Sudan Certificate of Secondary Education (SSCSE) examinations.

Obwany led with a mean score of 95.1, followed by Sebit Justin Sunday Lavirick of St Daniel Comboni Secondary School, Central Equatoria with a 94.6 mean score, as Chiok Otong Liah Chieh of Juba International Secondary School, Central Equatoria State, occupied the third position with 94.4 per cent.

Males vs females

Males were dominant in the top 10 positions, with only three females, namely: Anna Jumbo Lado (Tombe of Juba Diocesan Model), Elizabeth Luis Mayar (Juba Diocesan Model), and Josephine Poni Gwido Swaka (St Daniel Comboni Secondary School) making the cut in the top 10 slots.

But Josephine Poni Swaka led all girls nationwide with a 93.9 per cent mean score, followed by Anna Jumbo Lado with a 93.6 mean score and Elizabeth Mayar coming in third with a 93.4 per cent mean score.

Despite the COVID-19 lockdown, brain play earned St Daniel Comboni Secondary School of Central Equatoria State the first position nationwide. They helped their students by recording short videos, which they shared on WhatsApp during the COVID-19 lockdown that resulted in a huge average for their school compared to other schools.

Girls break the record

Girls shine

Outside the envelope of boys leading, girls secured safer ground by beating boys on average. Out of 870 students who failed the exams, 586 were males and 284 were females, making a wide margin of 302 students.

The data released by the ministry shows that girls performed with a 97.5 per cent pass rate while males passed with a 97.3 per cent pass rate.

Girls’ performances improved in 2020 with a 97.5 per cent pass rate, while in 2019 they had a 93.2 per cent pass rate, an increment of 4.3 per cent.

Outshining boys have been noticed in two years, consistently while comparing 2020 and 2019. In 2019, males passed with a 92.1 per cent pass rate, while girls performed with a 93.2 per cent pass rate.

In terms of enrolment, out of the 231 candidates registered in the commercial section, 127, which is 55 per cent of the total enrolment in the section, were females, while 104, which is 45 per cent of the total enrolment in the section, were males.

More females than males registered for the commercial section, while more male candidates than females registered for the academic section and the technical section.

The ministry noted that the passing rate in the last eight years had increased and remains standard at between 75 per cent and 90 per cent, which the council said should be maintained.

Performance by states

In the state ranking, Eastern Equatoria State has been declared the best-performing state, with a total of 2001 candidates who sat for the examination.

The state had the highest performance index nationwide, at 79.96 per cent. Jonglei State came second with 2063 registered candidates and 78.11 per cent performance index, while Central Equatoria State came in third with 12,792 registered candidates and a 77.40 per cent performance index.

The Ruweng Administrative Area occupied the fourth position, having registered only 906 candidates with a performance index of 76.63 per cent which was the leading Administrative Area.

There was an emphasis on the performance of girls between 2019 and 2020 when female candidates were noticed to have had an increased performance. Males increased by 97.3 per cent in 2020, compared to 92.1 per cent in 2019.

Girls improved their performance in 2020 as well, with a 97.5 per cent increase, compared to a 93.2 per cent increase in 2019.

The minister of education revealed that the number of candidates had been increasing in the last eight years from 2013 to 2020, with an increment of 6,565 registered students in the year 2020 examinations. Despite the fears expressed by the stakeholders, COVID-19 impacts worked against the privileges of the girl-child by leading to early pregnancies and forced marriages. 

Hitches

The absenteeism from the examination was noticed to have been increasing since 2013-2020, with 617 from 2013-2020.

The passing rate has been increasing for eight years in a row, with the passing rate in 2020 standing at 97.4 per cent compared to that of the year 2019 which was 92.5 per cent. It is a 4.9 per cent improvement over the previous two years.

However, it remained a standard of 75% to 90%, which the examination council would like to maintain in future examinations.

While announcing the results, the Minister for General Education and Instruction, Awut Deng Acuil, appreciated the students and, more so, the security organs and the police for providing security in the states during the period of examinations.

Acuil directed the states to pick up the results from the State Secretariat to be delivered to their respective states and schools.

The minister said the number of candidates should increase to 45,000 candidates in the academic year 2021, as the number of candidates sitting for senior four exams over the last eight years has decreased. 

It was noted that the number of male candidates enrolled in the 2020 exams was higher than that of females. And the performance was said to have improved due to improved payment of teachers and the introduction of distance learning programs during the closure of schools.

There was a death report of a student who died during the exams, the results of 40 students were withheld due to inconsistencies, 627 candidates did not do exams due to their absence, and 870 candidates failed the exams.

It was recommended that girls’ education in secondary schools should be encouraged to enable them to attain higher learning institutions. The team also recommended the training of the examination managers for effective monitoring of examinations.