Educational Tax Proposed To Support Teachers

This article was last updated on May 25, 2022

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The Governor of Jonglei state, Kuol Maynag Juuk has said that educational tax will be introduced in the state so that the collected money should be used for toping up of the teachers’ salaries and provide intensive in service training for teachers.

Kuol was speaking to ministers and members of Legislative Assembly so that they can implement the resolution and also bring back their children from foreign countries in an effort to boost the education in the state.

“We understand that elementary education is free but not the extent that our schools cannot function. This will give parents and tax-payers the right to monitor and have on the performance of a teacher,” the governor said his speech at the opening of the assembly.

The state minister of Education, Stephen Paar Kuol has said that low payment is the making teachers to desert their duties as most of them receive just 362 South Sudanese pounds.

Paar said because of the low pay, they could not send teachers to the country side were they cannot afford to sustain themselves.

Minister Paar said that they have presented a progress report to the council of ministers.

“We have develop proposal to response to the challenges and that was the base of contents I submitted to the council of ministers and I will submit the same report to the legislative assembly next week and the same challenges will be presented,” the minister said.

“I already told you that our teachers are already in poverty they are paid very low and you know the economic standard have worsened of course we are going through austerity measures and the whole through economic hardship,” he said.

He said that economy has slowed down in last two years and it has become worse for the teachers because the best salary at the entry level for teachers is 362 South Sudanese pounds monthly.

He said the problem is not lack of teachers but the lack of money because if they have a budget they can even hire some of the teachers from foreign countries for the purpose of teaching in Jonglei state.

He said that some of their graduates joined the Non Governmental Organization (NGOs) because of the quality payment they get from the NGOs.

He said that they are challenging the communities to participate in the education of their children and also challenging the legislative assembly both at the state and at the national level to allocate budget for education so that they can improve the quality of the education in the state.