April 2, 2006 (Juba) - The UN children’s agency, UNICEF, on Saturday kicked off a massive education campaign in southern Sudan aimed at doubling the enrolment in primary schools in the war-ravaged region, officials said.

UNICEF deputy director Rima Salah said education was vital in efforts to spur growth in the region, which has been ravaged by more than two decades of deadly war between ex-rebels, the Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM), and the Khartoum government.

 “Beyond the waters of the Nile, oil and minerals, Southern Sudan has a precious - an infinite - natural resource: the minds, the determination and the potential of her people, especially her children,” Salah said.

According to the agency, only about 22 per cent  of an estimated 2.2 million school-age children are enrolled in primary school, while some 8,600 teachers, many of whom are untrained volunteers, cover approximately 2,000 schools.

Many schools here are usually nothing more than blackboard propped under a tree, the agency said.

But a peace deal signed in January last year brought an end to the southern Sudan conflict -- which killed 1.5 million people and displaced four million -- has brought hopes of reversing the region’s underdevelopment.

Under the UNICEF-backed programme, launched in southern Sudan capital of Juba, some 1,500 new classrooms are currently under construction and a teacher-training programme is also under way, the agency said in a statement.

In addition, the programme will also provide for the distribution of 3.8 million books.

About 22 million dollars (18 million auros) have been received to support the programme  which is led by the southern Sudan government and supported by UN agencies and other non-governmental organisations.

(AFP)