The Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE) exams are continuing in Nyirol County, Jonglei State, despite an army airstrike that hit a school compound on Wednesday morning.

Local education officials confirmed the bombing, which sparked panic among learners but caused no student fatalities.

Jacob Ter Muon, the county education director, told Radio Tamazuj that the exams in Lankien town were briefly halted but resumed soon after.

“The school compound in Lankien was struck by an airstrike on Wednesday morning,” Ter said. “It is by God’s grace that no student lost their life. The only injured person was a young girl from the surrounding community.”

He noted that the English exam went ahead on Wednesday, while the geography and physics papers were administered on Thursday as planned, though under tense conditions.

Ter warned that the attack could negatively impact candidates’ results and questioned why government forces would strike an education centre during a national examination period.

Peter Gatkuoth Koang, the SPLM-IO-appointed commissioner for Nyirol, also confirmed that exams resumed normally on Thursday.

He said the situation had become “relatively calm” after the airstrike and urged for restraint from all sides.

The national government has yet to issue a statement on the incident.

Nyirol County, which is predominantly under SPLM-IO authority, has faced sporadic aerial attacks by the SSPDF in recent weeks.