UNITED NATIONS GIRLS EDUCATION INITIATIVE

Speaking on CSPAN last week in a panel discussion, Elizabeth Leu, senior education advisor with the AED Global Education Center, shared her expertise on efforts to improve education in Sudan, a country that has experienced civil war for 21 years.

Click here to watch the July 9 video.

“From the point of view of increasing enrollment, the system has been phenomenally successful since 2005…parents are sending their children to school in record numbers in Southern Sudan,” Leu said in the discussion. Having lived in Sudan from 2006-2008, and having just returned from another visit this month, her comments draw on AED’s experience over the past five years.

In partnership with the Ministry of Education in Sudan and USAID, AED has helped build a stronger education system, through efforts like conducting a census of schools to lay the informational groundwork for system-wide improvements, and improving the number and quality of teachers as well as the systems that support them.

Shedding a positive light on the progress that has been made since 2005, Leu’s talk provides a snapshot of the current state of education in Southern Sudan, outlines the Ministry of Education’s priorities for 2011-2013, and addresses capacity building issues.