Two universities in South Sudan are partnering with an USA counterpart to promote higher education towards agricultural development.
USAID, American Council of Education and Virginia State University today signed an agriculture higher education partnership with the University of Juba and the Catholic University of Sudan.The partnership is aimed at developing higher education institutions to facilitate food security and economic development in South Sudan.
Kevin Mullally, USAID mission director in South Sudan, told participants that the partnership is a long term process to stabilise South Sudan’s vast agricultural opportunities that were affected by the two-decade civil war.
Dr. Allan Grant, Dean of the college of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech, represented the American Council of Education. He said the partnership will have three goals: to prepare high quality professionals, to research according to the needs of South Sudan and to create programmes that address food security and resources issues.
The University of Juba underwent relocation from Khartoum a few months before South Sudan became independent.
Joseph Ukel, caretaker minister for higher education, said the partnership will address the much needed question of staff since 80 percent of Juba University’s lecturers remained in Khartoum.
The Communiqu√Ö¬Ω towards the development of higher education and human capacity to increase agricultural productivity and food security in South Sudan was signed this morning by USAID, Virginia Tech, University of Juba and Catholic University of Juba.