Juba, Jun 24 (IANS): The South Sudanese government, in partnership with global charity Save the Children, has launched a new multi-year resilience programme aimed at enrolling about 135,000 children in schools across 14 counties.

The $70 million programme, funded by Education Cannot Wait (ECW) and the Global Partnership for Education, aims to provide a holistic, contextualised package of interventions to ensure safe access to quality education while promoting the physical and mental well-being of children and adolescents.

Awut Deng Achuil, minister of general education and instruction, said on Friday that the government has introduced free education across the country, and education is the second war they are fighting now as the government wants to make sure all the children are enrolled in school, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Minister said during the launching ceremony in Lakes Stateno that no child will be left behind, and urged the traditional chiefs to let all children go to school without gender discrimination.

"Let us support education across the country."

Yasmine Sherif, executive director of ECW, appreciated all the South Sudanese parents who have decided to enroll their children in school.