Policy makers in South Sudan need to improve general education before debating the development of higher education that is in great demand.
A number of national and international specialists concluded today in Juba a two-day conference on the Future of Higher Education in South Sudan.University of Northern Bahr El Ghazal Vice Chancellor John Akec told CRN News that the universities in South Sudan face huge difficulties because they lost about 60 percent of their staff.
He added that there is huge demand for university education with about 15,000 students applying for only 3,000 places available in the three public universities in South Sudan.
Prof Akec said new public universities should open to expand higher education although it may compromise quality due to scarcity of resources.
Lam Akol Ajawin said in his presentation to the Conference that the discussion to raise the quality of higher education in South Sudan is critically linked to the improvement of general education.
He explained that policy makers must put in place a system that establishes the number of secondary schools that supply students to a university and the number of primary schools needed to supply a secondary school.
Dr Akol added that no university can produce the best students if they do not come with basic skills from general education.
The Conference on the Future of Higher Education in South Sudan approved a number of recommendations that will act as guidelines for key changes in higher education.