Magwi County commissioner upbeat as Primary Eight candidates begin exams
Over 20 primary schools in Magwi County, Eastern Equatoria State, are sitting for the country’s Certificate of Primary Education Examination, which commenced yesterday.
Speaking to The City Review from Magwi, the area county commissioner, Otto David Remson, who rang the examination bell at Magwi Central primary school, said the candidates assured him of their confidence and ability to excel in the exams.
Otto said at least 175 candidates in Magwi Central are taking the exams, and that he did not have an accurate figure for the total number of candidates sitting for the exams in the whole county.
“They are determined and excited to pass the exams, and as you know, my county is one of the best in terms of the level [of education]. I anticipate the same from them,” Otto told The City Review in a telephone interview.
An estimated 53,220 candidates are currently taking the exams, among whom are approximately 31,232 boys and 21,988 girls.
On Sunday, the Secretary-General of the Examination Council, Simon Nyot Deng said the ministry had completed all the required procedures except some locations that the team was unable to deliver exam papers due to being inaccessible.
However, the ministry did not provide a clear reason why some schools in the countryside would not have their exams completed this year. In some areas such as the greater Pibor Administrative Areas and Jonglei, insecurity has grown as a result of counter-attacks and cattle raiding which could make it difficult to carry out such exercises.
South Sudan has been hit hard by floods and over 800,000 people have been displaced from their homes, according to the United Nations humanitarian agency report.
Last year, most students, including those in secondary schools in some hamlets, particularly those under the control of the SPLA-IO, took their exams on a separate date. This was after the ministry of education delayed the delivery of the exams to the area due to security concerns.
