South Sudan’s Union of Private Schools has threatened threatened to strike after the government ordered them to cap secondary schools fees.
More than 90% of South Sudan’s schools are privately run, according to government figures, and many parents have complained of exorbitant school fees following the reopening of learning institutions last week.
The education ministry has since instructed all private schools to take fees in South Sudanese Pounds (SSP) only instead of US dollars. An upper limit on day school fees has been set at 80,000 SSP ($178; £126), which should include all learning materials.
Private boarding schools have been told to charge annual fees not exceeding 200,000 SSP, to be made in three instalments.
“We resolve that parents have the choice to change the expensive private schools and take their children to schools they can afford –including the government schools,” wrote South Sudan’s National Union of Private Schools in a letter addressed to the education ministry seen by the BBC.
“We reject the [government’s] order because it scares away investment, and resolved that should this order continues, we will lay down our tools.”
