In the summer of 2006, Augustino Ting Mayai returned to the community of Apuk Padoc and created the following Educational Needs Assessment:
Current Educational Situation: Apuk, under Akop district jurisdiction, has an extremely poor basic school system. Children travel (footing) long distances to seek an education in places 50 – 70 miles away from their residences, some of which commute daily during school hours. This is proven to be extremely hectic and resource exhausting for the children’s families and the community as a whole. Apuk Padoch, of 50, 000 to 70,000 citizens, has one poorly equipped, four-level primary school, called Akop (located in Akop town). No junior high or high school beyond aforementioned academic level in the whole district. All sub-districts, making up Apuk district, send their children to this single school, which is located in a region extremely affected by heat during dry seasons. After then, the children transfer to those far advanced primary schools located outside the area upon completing level four – although child attendance in those advanced primary schools is conditioned upon available resources that the family has. Those children whose parents have no cows are less likely to go further with their education. In South Sudan, issues concerning non-qualified teachers are so incalculable. And, in relation to this condition, most teachers at Akop primary school are not the exception, for many of them have only reached educational levels ranging from 4th to 7th grades. To make things even worse for these children, these unskilled teachers work on voluntary basis; no financial support from either Sudanese government or UN. The teachers teach as they wish because nothing really obligates them, putting aside their lack of skills as a minor issue. In contrast, qualified teachers (supposedly 12 graders and up) resort to other paying positions, leaving an institution of education uncoordinated and deteriorating, letting it verge on continuing undergrowth. There are only four thatched and mudded huts for the whole school of Akop. These nonpermanent buildings, which leak when it rains, serve as school classrooms and offices. Due to this lack of reasonable and sustainable buildings in this school, heavy rains usually spring school closure. Food, health facilities for treatments and educational supplies, such as books, pens, and pencils are very minimal for these children. Dry season leads to school closure, as the sources of water, such as pools and streams, upon which many people of the area depend, tend to subsequently dry up during the months of January through May. One borehole, located in Akop town, which may be many miles away from other areas, serves human aggregates of 50,000 people, including the students and teachers. This borehole is relatively considered inadequate to provide clean water for all. During this hard, hot and dry season, children move to areas closed to sources of water following their relatives. This long break of children from school remains a latent one, which needs a future address should feasibilities permit. All these conditions amount to many struggles confronted by the citizens and tantamount to social, political and economic constraint. About 150 to 450 students attend this school yearly. The numerical variation of the children’s attendance seems to have been caused by those conditions expounded earlier.