A VOLUNTEER has returned to York after helping the world’s newest country rebuild its education system in the wake of 50 years of conflict.

Now Bob Campbell, former head of the department of educational studies at the University of York, is urging other education specialists such as primary teachers, head teachers, inspectors and education managers to volunteer for the same type of work.

Mr Campbell, 66, of Badger Hill, volunteered to work with VSO Ethiopia for two years after retiring from the university, and he then worked with VSO Cambodia for two years before going to South Sudan, where he has helped to develop a strategy for an education inspection system within the Government’s Ministry of General Education in the capital city Juba.

A VSO spokeswoman said in South Sudan, a girl was statistically more likely to die before she reached the age of five than to complete a primary school education, and only 27 per cent of the adult population was literate.

“VSO has been working with the new government to identify ways to implement long-term, efficient systems to strengthen essential services in health, education and civic society.”

Mr Campbell said it had been an exciting opportunity to make a real difference in the world’s newest country, working with people with huge expectations and ambitious plans for their future.

• For more information about volunteering with VSO, go to vso.org.uk/volunteer/current-roles/