EDUCATION

Save the Children is one of the lead actors in South Sudan’s Education sector. We are supporting children affected by conflict, displacement, climate shocks, and poverty by helping them access quality education as well as pushing for investment in education and protection systems.

• Expanded access to safe, inclusive, and quality education: A total of 2,234,387 boys and girls—including children with disabilities—were reached through 219 primary schools and Alternative Learning Programme (ALP) centres. This intervention has significantly reduced the gap of 2.8 million out-of-school children, with 47.4% now accessing learning opportunities. Progress was achieved through strengthened education service delivery, including teacher training, motivational incentives for volunteer teachers, and capacity building of key stakeholders such as Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs), School Management Committees (SMCs), and Ministry of General Education and Instruction (MoGEI) officials in school monitoring, supervision, and governance. Additionally, education infrastructure and school functionality have been improved.
• Enhanced learning environments: We have operationalised 219 learning spaces across the country and delivered climate-resilient school infrastructure to address recurring floods, droughts, and heatwaves. With funding from GPE and BRACE, approximately 200,000 additional children have been retained in school through rebuilding damaged facilities, improving ventilation, installing solar panels, strengthening water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) systems, and supporting climate-responsive teaching practices.
• Strengthened quality of teaching and learning outcomes: The capacity of 7,228 teachers (27%) has been enhanced through continuous professional development, enabling effective implementation of the new curriculum. Over 100,000 teaching and learning materials (TLMs) have been distributed to improve classroom instruction. These efforts have contributed to improved teaching quality, the adoption of inclusive pedagogical approaches, and better early-grade learning outcomes.
• Established robust Education in Emergencies (EiE) and Child Protection mechanisms: Capacity building was provided to national and state government officials on rapid response mechanisms for Education in Emergencies. Support was delivered to children affected by displacement and conflict—both directly and through co-leadership of education cluster coordination—providing safe learning environments, including temporary learning spaces, psychosocial support, school supplies, and targeted protection interventions for girls and other at-risk groups, including those displaced by the Sudan conflict (2023–2025).
• Strengthened education systems and supported policy development and implementation: We contributed to national education reform efforts and supported the development of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) and gender-responsive education policy frameworks for the Ministry of General Education and Instruction. These frameworks are expected to be ratified under the System Capacity Grant, enhancing coordination between national and state education authorities, strengthening evidence generation for policy improvements, and promoting more inclusive and equitable education delivery systems.

• Building safe, climate resilient schools: In November 2025, Save the Children launched the Building the Climate Resilience of Children and Communities (BRACE) initiative, with Green Climate Fund and GPE and other integrated programs supporting schools adapt to floods, heatwaves, and droughts and upgraded schools to Solar energy systems, Improved ventilation, rainwater harvesting and strengthened WASH facilities. Our work helped 1 million people affected by climate disasters, including 355,000 displaced by flooding, disrupting learning.
• Improving quality of learning through teacher training: We are strengthening the education workforce to improve children’s learning outcomes. In 2025, over 7,300 teachers benefited from professional development, including, Gender‑responsive teaching, inclusive education, learner‑centered methods and climate‑responsive education ‘’Teachers who are better trained are more likely to keep children engaged and in school’’.
• Strengthening education systems and policy reform: Our programs supported development of MHPSS and Gender in education policy framework for MoGEI and we continue to strengthen South Sudan education systems, education policy reforms through GPE System Transformation and System Capacity Grants to improve the structural elements of the national education system.
• Systems-Level Contributions: We supported MoGEI to plan and deliver more inclusive and equitable basic education, improving teacher management, curriculum delivery, and financial planning. 
  Strengthening public finance and data systems for better service delivery. These reforms align with the government’s 2023–2027 General Education Sector Plan.
• Protecting children and keeping them in school: We integrate strong child protection and MHPSS components into education work addressing protection risks given the high rates of displacement, violence, and child protection risks. Our programs established safe learning spaces in conflict‑affected areas in Jonglei, Upper Nile, Eastern Equatoria etc and provide MHPSS (social emotional learning) to help learners recover from trauma. Our integrated programs help in preventing child recruitment, early marriage, and exploitation by keeping children in safe schools.
• Strengthening Education in Emergencies (EiE) services: We provide expertise in emergency education responses through the Education Cluster and the Humanitarian Response Plan and helped over 411,000 children accessed emergency education services in 2024 demonstrating strong operational capacity that continues into 2025.
• Innovation in education, evidence-based learning approaches: We provide access to digital learning to 400 children and 50% girls through our high quality edu-tech solar powered digital learning in schools across our education program in Jongolie and Eastern Equatoria in Magwi county. We are improving children’s learning outcome through our innovative learning approaches like WeThrive, Teaching at the Right Levels (TaRL) and learning wellbeing in emergencies focusing on literacy and numeracy boost and social emotional learning in emergencies.