Mobile-based UNESCO project to train women teachers in South Sudan

Details: John Tanner; Category: Humanitarian Comms; 26 June 2026; 752 views

UNESCO said on Wednesday it has launched the rollout of a new mobile-based teacher professional development initiative in South Sudan that focuses on empowering women school leaders and teachers.

The initiative – spearheaded by UNESCO and its International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA) – will use mobile technology and edge computing systems from Japanese IT services and consulting firm Castalia to expand access to professional learning opportunities.

Under the initiative, teachers will be able to access self-paced courses, learning resources and peer-learning networks regardless of location via a platform designed for low-data and offline use.

Forty tablets were also provided to participants to support the rollout of the program, although Yayoi Segi-Vltchek, office head and UNESCO representative to South Sudan, said the success of the initiative won’t be measured by the number of tablets distributed or the number of trainings conducted.

“Its true success will be reflected in how effectively you cascade the knowledge acquired, how many teachers continue to engage with the learning platform, how well you support your peers, and ultimately how many children benefit from improved teaching and learning in classrooms across South Sudan,” Segi-Vltchek said in a statement.

UNESCO said the initiative aims to address the fact that many educators in South Sudan, particularly in remote and underserved areas, have limited opportunities to participate in regular training due to distance, time constraints and economic pressures. These barriers often disproportionately affect women educators.

Natale Majok Lual, principal of Aweil-Maper Teacher Training Institute in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State, said that teachers in South Sudan face a heap of challenges, from the country’s economic crisis, lack of salaries, and the distance they must travel to school to the fact that there simply aren’t enough teachers.

“Some don't have access to digital equipment, which is needed in today's world,” Natale said. “This training and project will help introduce our teachers to digital learning and new possibilities and help ease some burdens. For some who cannot travel to the institute regularly, they will now be able to learn online.”

The initiative was officially launched last week during a workshop organised by UNESCO and IICBA in Juba, which brought together education officials from the Ministry of General Education and Instruction and teacher educators from universities and training institutions. The workshop is part of a one-year project being implemented across Algeria, Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria and South Sudan with support from the Japanese government.

Japan is also providing financial support for the mobile-based teacher development initiative, along with the Pan African Virtual and Electronic University (PAVEU) initiative of the African Union's Pan African University.