About 1.12 million textbooks were handed over to school leaders in Juba on Wednesday, as part of a massive program aimed at ensuring out-of-school children can learn in South Sudan, Save the Children said.

In a press statement, the children's charity said the textbooks will play a vital role in the teaching and learning process that gives every child the best possible opportunities for education in South Sudan. 

The program, led by Save the Children in partnership with Norwegian Refugee Council, Finn Church Aid, and the Ministry of General Education and Instruction (MoGEI), and funded by the Education Cannot Wait (ECW) initiative, is one of the most wide-reaching education resourcing initiatives in South Sudan.

The statement quotes Rama Hansraj, the Country Director of Save the Children in South Sudan, as saying, “Many children are not learning in South Sudan and one of the factors is that both learners and teachers do not have access to adequate reference materials, guides, or textbooks that they need to effectively facilitate quality teaching and learning. We believe that these 1.12 million textbooks will reduce the high pupil- textbook ratio thereby allowing more children to get access to textbooks." 

She adds, "These textbooks have come in handy at a time when social distancing is a key requirement to controlling the spread of Covid 19 - This means that with more books, we are able to reduce the number of children that come together to share a book.”

The textbook ratio is expected to be reduced to 1:1 for secondary learners through the provision of 800 thousand books in South Sudan and for the primary schools, the ratio will be reduced significantly with the provision of 270 thousand books across the MYRP Supported States, according to the statement.

Save the Children says more than 1.5 million children in primary and secondary schools in the six states of Eastern Equatoria, Lakes, Jonglei, Upper Nile, Unity, and Warrap will benefit from the books.