On 22 January 2026, the National Education Coalition (NEC) convened its monthly coordination meeting at the Ministry of General Education and Instruction (MoGEI) in Juba, bringing together government representatives and education partners to review progress, address emerging challenges, and strengthen collaboration in delivering quality and inclusive education across South Sudan. The meeting was officially opened by the Director General for Partner Coordination, followed by welcoming remarks from the NEC Board representative.
During the session, NEC reaffirmed its core mandates of policy advocacy and influencing, coordination and partnership strengthening, promotion of inclusion and equity, and accountability and monitoring, which continue to guide engagement with stakeholders to ensure equitable access to education. Members reviewed and adopted the minutes of the previous meeting and followed up on key action points, including partner files, the partner mapping pilot tool, and MoGEI Memorandum of Understanding processes.
Program updates highlighted progress in partnership documentation and mapping, while noting delays in the Education Sector Operational Plan and the late release of the school calendar. Participants also discussed advocacy priorities for 2026, the integration of refugees, internally displaced persons, and returnees in Renk County, emergency education concerns in Bazia Payam of Western Equatoria, and opportunities to pilot accessibility of the Educare e-learning platform.
MoGEI shared significant developments aimed at strengthening education quality and accountability, including the presentation of the 2026 school calendar, preparedness measures for anticipated heatwaves and emergencies, progress in issuing MoUs to partners, and nationwide capacity strengthening efforts. These included training 855 school inspectors, orienting 530 headteachers on inspection and supervision, printing and distributing 58,714 inspection tools, and conducting joint monitoring missions in Abyei, Yambio, Mundri, and Twic. The ministry also reported progress in developing a digital school inspection template.
Participants discussed key challenges requiring coordinated support, including the absence of a unified inspection and supervision system, limited funding for inspection activities, and technical concerns related to the partner mapping pilot. Partners also raised concerns about the loss of education materials in Koch County, Unity State, and requested sharing of the national heatwave response plan.
The meeting concluded with a renewed commitment to strengthened coordination, accountability, and information sharing among partners to improve education service delivery. Participants reaffirmed their collective commitment to ensuring inclusive, resilient, and quality education for all learners across South Sudan, with the next coordination meeting to be communicated in due course.
