by Julius Gale
JUBA, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Vice Chancellor of the University of Juba on Tuesday warned that South Sudan's public universities risk being shut down over high operational cost and reduced financial support from the government.
John Akech said in statement that the impact of inflation on the falling purchasing power of tuition fees collected from students and meager funds provided by the government have greatly affected operation of the country's oldest university.
Akech also blamed the government for failing to allocate funds for operation and infrastructure development for public universities, such as quality lecture halls, well-stocked libraries, equipped laboratories, internet connectivity and office space for teaching staff.
"What is seen to be a bleak future for the University of Juba is also true for all the public universities of South Sudan. Many will soon close down," Akech said
He said the administration of the University of Juba has noted an increasing number of teaching staff taking leave without pay to work in the NGO sector while others cross into neighboring countries in search of higher wages.
He added that with the depreciation of the South Sudan pound against the U.S. dollar, a full professor now earns the equivalent of less than 200 U.S dollars per month and the majority earning less than 100 U.S dollars down from 3,000 U.S dollars in 2015.
The academician warned that if the current challenges facing all the five public universities in South Sudan are not contained, it would have a devastating effect on the quality of education offered throughout the war-torn country in the long run.
"The consequences will be a delayed economic recovery and a retarded economic growth in the coming decades, unless measures are taken soon to reverse this dangerous trajectory of South Sudan's higher education sector," he said.
Oil-rich South Sudan is currently struggling with hyper inflation brought by multiple factors including the civil war that has raised government expenditure on security, drop in oil production and the depreciation of the country's currency against the dollar that has dwindled the East African nation's revenue base.
The crisis has starved the world's youngest nation of much-needed foreign reserves to support imports as the government also struggles to pay salaries for civil servants.
