Speaking during the closing ceremony, Yambio County Education Director Jeremiah Ismail said that the skills acquired during the course will enable participants to improve at their tasks.

"Encourage your teachers to be productive by being productive yourselves," Mr. Ismail said.

The state's Director for Basic Education Schools Hezekiah Wayo informed the head teachers that they would be regularly appraised to determine if they were putting what they had learnt from the course into practice.

"You are the key players in your schools ... check your teachers and let them deliver the knowledge to our children. You will be to blame for any poor performance by your pupils in your respective schools," the director said.

Meanwhile Deputy Director for Training Jerifa Philip encouraged the head teachers to work hard and improve the standard of basic education schools in the state.

"We do not want to send our children across the border anymore in search of better education," Ms. Philip said.

The course was organized by the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), which began working in Western Equatoria in 1996, a time when Sudan was plagued by civil war.

Following the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005, many of Southern Sudan's displaced people started to return home.

"The state needs more schools and more teachers to meet the needs of the returnees," Mr. Wayo said, while acknowledging the importance of ADRA's work.

Teachers attending the course were drawn from four counties including Yambio, Maridi, Mundri East and Mundri West.