Western Equatoria Governor Joseph Bakosoro together with officials of the UN Children's Agency (UNICEF) and donor country representatives attended a rally in Yambio today as part of a “national campaign to reverse the massive downward trend in school attendance.”

In recent years the state has seen increasing school enrollment rates but today UNICEF noted that dropouts are now on the rise.

UNICEF says its targets for the school attendance campaign include bringing another 40,000 out-of-school children back into school in Western Equatoria.

“Every child in South Sudan has the right to an education, whether they live in a conflict-affected or a peaceful state,” said Jonathan Veitch, Representative of UNICEF South Sudan, speaking at the event.

In a press statement, UNICEF South Sudan noted it has received only 21% of the education funds that it had appealed for this year.

However, Japanese Ambassador Kiya Masahiko also spoke at the rally saying that his country was providing funding to help get children back to school in the state. According to UNICEF, Japan has contributed $9.5 million in 2015 to fund UNICEF programmes, including education, in all ten states.

“Both the UNICEF Representative Veitch and Ambassador to Japan praised the Western Equatoria State authorities for prioritizing education. The Governor has led the way in insisting on education for all, especially girls, and the demand for education in the state is at an all-time high,” UNICEF said.

The UN agency noted though that “resource constraints” mean the state authorities cannot keep up with the demand for schooling, and as a result children drop out of school.