Available via license: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
Content may be subject to copyright.
INTERNATIONAL HIGHER EDUCATION
24
in the New Agenda that the critical task is: continuing “col-
lective conscientization,” ongoing disruption of dominant
exclusionary norms, and recreating the university’s teach-
ing and learning space and decision-making platforms. The
discovery of Fanon may give some hope; his prescription
for the road ahead is radically democratic: accept that the
masses are thinking people. In the context of the univer-
sity: accept that the African university will not arise from
an aged, white, male professoriate, but from young, astute,
black staff and students. They are thinking people; they do
not want their universities to fall. Networked student power
can potentially be engaged for all manner of radically demo-
cratic participation in decision-making, redesigning curri-
cula, and reorganizing university life.
Do or Die: The Dilemma of
Higher Education in South
Sudan
David Malual W. Kuany
David Malual W. Kuany is dean, College of Education at Dr. John Ga-
rang Memorial University of Science and Technology, Jonglei State,
South Sudan. He recently concluded the Mandela Washington Fellow-
ship at Cambridge College, Massachusetts, and Florida International
University, US. E-mail: malualwuor@yahoo.com.
When South Sudan became independent from Sudan
in 2011, there were hopes that higher education, and
education in general, would top the national spending pri-
ority list. However, the education sector lost emphasis when
two ministries of higher education and general education
were amalgamated to form one ministry, the current Min-
istry of Education, Science and Technology. Budgets were
reduced as part of national austerity measures, staffs were
redeployed, and directorates renamed. To make matters
worse (to say the very least), when the country entered into
what I personally call a war of insanity on December 15,
2013, public universities were badly affected, with students,
faculty and staff displaced, and assets destroyed. Now, at
certain times, university administration is challenged with
the question of whether to close universities or keep them
open. This article analyzes the basic challenges facing high-
er education institutions in South Sudan, with the hope that
the recent peace deal between government and rebels will
be sustainable and provide tangible solutions.
Snapshot of Higher Education
South Sudan, the world newest nation, has a total of six uni-
versities. Five of these are public universities while one is a
private institution. The top three university administrators
are appointed by the president of the country. Each univer-
sity has a vice-chancellor and two deputies for academic af-
fairs and for administration and finance. Only one of the
five university vice-chancellors is a woman. At the time of
writing, the total number of students in all universities is
estimated between 25,000 to 30,000.
Challenges
The most important challenge to higher education in South
Sudan is the vicious circle of insecurity in both the periph-
ery and the center of the country. Four of the five public
universities are located in states prone to be attacked either
by the rebels fighting the government, or by local commu-
nities in conflict with each other. As a result, many highly
skilled foreign academics have left the universities and re-
turned to their countries, or sought jobs with international
nongovernmental organizations. Because of insecurity and
interruptions in the learning and academic cycles, many
students left the country to get enrolled in neighboring
countries such as Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, or Sudan. Some
students and staff, traumatized by the murderous attacks,
are too scared to return to the campuses and thus interrupt
their studies or drop out of school altogether. However, the
recent peace deal signed in Juba might help overcome this
fear of insecurity.
Brain Drain and Public Financing
A number of outstanding, home-grown faculty have left
South Sudan to seek refuge elsewhere, in search for greener
pastures. Before July 2015, academics in South Sudan were
receiving 35 percent less salary than their counterparts in
East Africa. This led to brain drain. The incentive of state
education is that beneficiaries should pay back to the state
by way of serving the community in their respective spe-
cialties. This is compromised if these individuals prefer to
work elsewhere. The implication is the insufficient number
of faculty at public universities, hence the huge student-
faculty ratio.
The national government pays the salaries of staff
and faculty at public universities, but little else. There is
no funding available for construction or maintenance of
infrastructure, for research, holding examinations, and
student accommodations. With these realities, universities
are faced with the challenge of having to shut down. So far,
no university has done so, but extended holidays are not
uncommon and severely disrupt academic life. The delays
provoke frustration and exacerbate the need to improve
Number 85: Spring 2016
INTERNATIONAL HIGHER EDUCATION 25
Number 85: Spring 2016
working conditions.
Technology and Labor Market Needs
As in other developing countries, the demands of students
enrolled nowadays in universities in South Sudan present
a formidable challenge for university academics and ad-
ministrators. Students need lecture theatres equipped with
modern pedagogical equipment, air conditioning, stable
electricity, and the means to commute to and from the uni-
versity. Students are easily annoyed when lacking favorable
conditions for learning. The faculty also face major chal-
lenges, lacking both standard equipment as well as knowl-
edge on how to use digital resources.
The central purpose of education is to foster skills and
values for individuals to successfully fit into society and
engage in productive activity to earn a living. The current
labor market requires a thorough understanding of mod-
ern technology, flexibility and creativity, and social intelli-
gence. As observed above, insufficient technological tools
might compromise the opportunity for university students
to learn needed skills for the labor market, resulting in a
mismatch of competencies and unemployment.
Foreign Universities and Transnational Education
The increasing number of private institutions of postsec-
ondary education in neighboring Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia,
and Sudan reflects an enormous competition for students
in the region. The attraction of South Sudanese to foreign
universities is probably caused by better learning environ-
ments, course duration, curriculum, level of technology,
higher standard of living at low cost, integrated student sup-
port mechanisms, and the diversity of the student popula-
tion, which provides unique opportunities for international
exchanges. These conditions prompt students to cross bor-
ders in search of better educational conditions. Students
tend to leave for foreign universities where they are certain
of graduating within a specified period of time, and with
better standards as compared to domestic universities.
Conclusion
Although higher education in South Sudan faces enormous
challenges, it is moving in the right direction. Since 2013,
more South Sudanese academics and staff have joined for-
eign universities for capacity building. If they return to the
country, they will provide the much needed know–how to
improve the quality of education. The recent peace deal, if
it is sustained, will provide avenues for international inter-
university exchanges, improvement in learning facilities,
an increase in student enrollment, especially women, and
resources might be invested in education.
Challenges to Doctoral
Education in Africa
Fareeda Khodabocus
Fareeda Khodabocus is director of quality assurance at the University of
Mauritius and a member of the Higher Education Advocacy Network
for Africa (HERANA). E-mail: f.khodabocus@uom.ac.mu.
Research is one of the three major pillars of higher edu-
cation. For a university to progress and to address the
needs and challenges of the knowledge industry, academics
must constantly be engaged in research. For the past two
decades, research universities across the United States, Eu-
rope, and developed countries at large have been placing in-
creasing emphasis on the importance of doctoral education
as an engine for growth of the knowledge economy. Along
the same lines, researchers in Africa have undertaken vari-
ous studies to investigate the process of universities func-
tioning as tools for development for the African continent.
Worldwide, new curricula and new jobs are emerging, re-
placing traditional ones. According to the US Bureau of La-
bor Statistics, jobs requiring a master’s degree are projected
to increase by 22 percent by the year 2020, while positions
requiring a doctoral or professional degree will increase
by 20 percent. New areas and fields of research will thus
emerge, calling for universities to innovate and adjust to
the needs of society.
Eradication of poverty, access to education for all, em-
powering the younger generation with education, minimiz-
ing the brain drain, gender equity, and encouraging African
women to participate in the development of Africa, have
been high on African government agendas. To contribute
to the realization of the Millennium Development Goals on
the African continent, African universities are encouraged
The most important challenge to higher
education in South Sudan is the vicious
circle of insecurity in both the periphery
and the center of the country.
