GESS Commences the 2024 Cash Transfers Process

Girls’ Education South Sudan (GESS) is pleased to announce that preparations for the 2024
cash transfer process are underway.

Cash transfers are direct payments that encourage learners to enrol and stay in school by
offsetting financial barriers to education. Girls receive this money because they still face many
barriers to education, such as early and forced marriage and limited access to menstrual health
products. Since 2014, the GESS cash transfers have helped to address the economic and
social barriers that stop girls attending school and learning.

In 2023, 1.1 million girls were enrolled in primary school, three times as many as when the
GESS programme began in 2014. We now have nearly as many girls as boys enrolling in
primary schools.

Due to this success, the GESS programme has decided to focus on the enrolment of girls in
upper primary and secondary schools, given the challenges girls face as they get older and as
they transition to secondary education. Therefore, this year, girls in classes Primary 7 to Senior
4 will receive a cash transfer, as well as girls in the Accelerated Learning Programme (ALP)
levels 3 and 4. For the first time ever, boys who have been identified as having a disability in
classes Primary 7 to Senior 4 and learners with disabilities in ALP levels 3 and 4, will be
validated to receive a cash transfer.

“Girls and young people with disabilities are disproportionately excluded from education in
South Sudan. The cash transfers provided under the GESS help make it easier for these
children to enrol in – and to stay in – school and benefit from an education, affording them the
opportunity to realise their potential and contribute fully to society and to the development of
the country.” Kobi Bentley, Development Director, British Embassy Juba.

The validation process is scheduled to commence across the country in the week commencing
1st July. During the validation process, learners who are enrolled and regularly attending the
above-mentioned classes will be verified and added to the payment list.

GESS has implemented various measures to ensure that eligible learners receive funds
through a streamlined process. Upon enrolment through our mobile app, each eligible learner
will receive a unique learner ID. This ID is included on their individual Cash Transfer Enrolment
Form (CTEF), issued during validation. To qualify for payment later in the year, learners must
have matching unique learner IDs on both the CTEF and the payment list.

Parents and guardians are strongly encouraged to ensure their child’s participation in the
validation process and to keep the white copy of the CTEF safe at home until payment starts.

It is important to note that without the Cash Transfer Enrolment Form, learners will not receive
their payment.

We urge learners, parents, teachers, school managers, and school communities to carefully
follow these guidelines to facilitate a smooth validation process and ensure all eligible learners
receive their cash transfers. We also encourage individuals to report any wrong issuance,
wrongdoing, or misuse of Cash Transfer Enrolment Forms to ineligible or incorrect
recipients, by contacting our hotline numbers below:

1. MTN +211 928 520 824 2. Zain +211 917 647 891

Daniel Gesaka, GESS Team Leader, stressed: “I call upon parents, guardians, and all other
stakeholders to ensure that we support those who are entitled to the transfer. It is important to
ensure that those who need the money the most, benefit from the programme. GESS has zero
tolerance towards any misappropriation”.

The second phase of GESS was due to end in March 2024, but the programme has been
extended to complete final activities, including the cash transfer payments, by the end of 2024.

The new UK government programme ‘Education For All South Sudan’ (EFASS) will commence
once the GESS programme ends. EFASS will continue paying cash transfers, as well as
focusing on improving the quality of education in South Sudan through training of existing
teachers to support foundational learning and accelerated learning for children who have fallen
behind. Further information on EFASS will be shared in early 2025.

The GESS Programme is funded by the UK government through Foreign Commonwealth Development
Office (FCDO), the government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada (GAC), the U.S. Agency for
International Development (USAID), the European Union (EU), the Swedish International Development
Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and the Norway Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Categorised in: Cash Transfers, Girls' Education, Human Interest Story