Government of South Sudan (Juba) 

press release

 

Juba — The President of the Republic of South Sudan, H.E. Gen. Salva Kiir Mayardit today announced that the government will work tirelessly to attract and retain qualified citizens in the country and stop brain drain.

The President explained that South Sudan has lost its best educated people to other countries over the past several decades. He said that even though many of the people had fled the war they were able to learn and earn higher education degrees in the Diaspora. He said that it is now time that they returned home to rebuild their motherland.

 

"We will put our minds together and address the major challenges facing higher education in our country such as funding, accreditation of universities, physical infrastructure development, staffing, establishment of Research Councils, scholarships among others", he said.

President Kiir underscored the role of universities in nation building. He said that universities and other institutions throughout the country will be the torchlight in rebuilding the independent country.

"As we have leaped into this new era, we must now mobilize our material and intellectual resources to develop. There are no other institutions more important than our universities that must become the basis of our strategy to build this country", he said.

The President also said that his government will encourage the establishment and expansion of private institutions to expand the reach of education adding that the most important asset a nation should strive for is to have an educated population. President Kiir also announced that the government will form "Think Tanks" and professional institutions to critique and guide the government development agenda and policies.

"We cannot develop if we do not invest in the development of the human resource in order to meet the challenges of modernization, particularly the implementation of the program of rural transformation", he said.

President Kiir acknowledged that the universities are in a sorry state and pledged that the government will expeditiously embark on construction of modern campuses to match international standards thus becoming destinations for both academics and practitioners worldwide. "This is very critical especially if we want to retain all students to acquire their basic degrees locally; this can and shall be done", he asserted.

The President challenged the academia to conduct rigorous research focusing on the development of agricultural sector, physical infrastructure and the establishment of basic industries to meet the basic needs of the South Sudanese. He encouraged them to learn from their counterparts elsewhere in the world but admonished them not to be "copycats".

He also said that there is need to control the proliferation of private universities by setting standards that will determine the sustenance and quality of their establishment. He said that the Government of the Republic of South Sudan will assume its sovereign responsibility of providing the necessary support and guidance for the institutions of higher education.

Once again the President called on the people to embrace the culture of hard work. "I will continue to insist on you to work harder; I am already at work myself", he said.

President Kiir made these remarks today when he addressed the students and staff of the University of Juba during a special occasion to celebrate the independence of South Sudan at the Main Campus in the city of Juba.