A first group of internally displaced teachers have returned to
South Sudan as part of a new Return of Qualified Sudanese programme
designed to address the needs for qualified human resources in
South Sudan’s educational sector.

Six teachers accompanied by their dependants left Khartoum for
Juba on 22 November. So far, some 130 displaced educators have
volunteered to return to South Sudan as part of this one-month
pilot programme.

The returns are coordinated with all government partners,
including the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and the
Government of South Sudan’s Ministry of Education as well as
the Displaced South Sudan Teachers’ Union. Other humanitarian
partners such as the NGO Skills for Southern Sudan, the World Food
Programme (WFP), UNICEF and FAO are also providing assistance to
the returnees.

The programme aims to help some 4,000 displaced teachers return
to South Sudan by February 2007.

This initiative is part of a broader Danish International
Development Agency (DANIDA) funded programme, which aims to
encourage the return of professionals from Northern Sudan,
neighbouring countries and from the Sudanese diasporas in North
America, Europe and Asia.

The main target groups are teachers, health workers, vocational
workers such as carpenters and mechanics, and highly qualified
professionals such as engineers and professors.

A recent survey carried out by the government of Sudan and
UNICEF shows that more than 750,000 students have enrolled in some
3,000 schools across Southern Sudan, which is still struggling to
recover from two decades of armed conflict. It underlines the lack
of adequate educational resources and trained teachers.

For further information please contact:

Birgit Hussfeld

IOM Public Information, Khartoum, Sudan,

E-mail: "mailto:bhussfeld@iom.int" target="_blank" title=
"">bhussfeld@iom.int