The Vice Chancellor of Juba University, Professor John Akech Apuruot, blamed the ministry of higher education for delaying students’ admission to universities in the required time.
He argues that students are not admitted timely, making others wait for two years before joining the universities.
Akech accused the Ministry of Higher Education Science of mismanaging the fund saying the government higher institutions struggle to maintain their operation due to a lack of resources and the ministry not intervening quickly.
He appeals to High Education to break the tendency of not collaborating with universities.
“We need more cooperation between the Universities and the Ministry of Higher Education. Unfortunately, the Ministry of Higher Education wants to do it alone, and they never call us to see and sit together and see how we can crack these problems.”
The Minister of Higher Education, Hon: Gabriel Changson Chang, refuted the claims of mismanaging resources.
He says the delay in admission has nothing to do with coordination and collaboration.
He acknowledges that education ministries are struggling with financial constraints despite their locally generated revenue, which he said is managed by the ministry of finance.
Mr. Chang says his department collected over 80 million Pound last year and remitted the money to the ministry of finance, but he finds it hard to get the money back with unclear circumstances he didn’t disclose.
“We get only 5 percent, and it’s a peanut. Surprisingly, the body that collects, like Finance and National Revenue Authority, takes that money. When we ask for the same money to be given to us to carry out these services, it doesn’t come easily,” Changson said.
The Ministry of Higher Education has admitted nearly seven thousand students to further degree and diploma programs at various countrywide universities.