Higher education needs compatriots to up lift this nation
Your Excellency, this is the nation you fought long and hard. The people whom you yielded during liberation struggle "give us liberty or death!" indeed this is the country where 2.5 million life have been lost in the long search for justice, equality, prosperity, good governance and democracy. The principles you reiterated prior to election. Again, due to your determination, our tears were dried following independence during which we speculated and celebrated that freedom has been achieved at last! Nevertheless, with only one anniversary celebrated, our hope and expectations are diminishing. Our joy has been snatched and turned into bitterness and hatred by individuals who work against the interest of South Sudanese citizens. People who hate sharing joy with us and rejoice when we are languishing in harrows and sorrows.
Your Excellency, I am wondering about the character content of higher education. There is old adage that goes, "Fish starts to rot from the head" this is true of higher education in South Sudan. The behaviour of individuals running higher education from the top is rotten. Because of the following reasons;
Firstly, University remained un-functional last year because of claim that there were no enough lectures halls and accommodation but budget was allocated. However, when opened this year because of pressures there was no effort seen of newly erected facilities and later closed following students' crisis.
Secondly, the University of Juba administration took the advantage of student fight to impose un-nationalistic conditions on us such as: no accommodation, no feeding, banning of all students' activities and dissolution of students' union. This was done to negate power of organisation and to create division among students and to pocket the budget that was given for our services and to create possibilities for further closure.
Thirdly, on 31st July, when reopening was announced, following the four months of meaningless closure. The result of investigation which was launched on 7th April, 2012 following closure should have been the first to bring culprits who instigated fighting and affect the future of majority into book and so as to act as example to others about the tough course of the law. Remember "where there is nothing to loss, there is nothing to fear."Fourthly, following reopening, peace and reconciliation should have been conducted to bring together the students from the two sides who were involved in fighting and so as to restore fraternity and mutual understanding and forgiveness. But the university reopened without such usual concern.
Fifthly, the investigation results did not materialize because the same administration which was suspect composed up all the committee members who carried out the investigation. Not only that, they added salt into wound by declaring the dismissal of innocent students who were stranded in the hostels. Instead of culprits who triggered violence that contributed to the closure.
Sixth, because of no care, we are being psychologically tortured by the authorities in higher education to hate ourselves and our government. And to tarnish the image of our young nation for low attention in higher studies. They would want us to blame the government for its slow intervention in the matters that need immediate mitigation and resolution.
Seventh, we students currently occupying hostels are being treated like prisoners of war. All services are stopped; cleaners only appear during payment of salaries. Sanitation facilities are filled up. In addition, we are being denied water while water tank that was donated by the Unity State Governor, Taban Deng Gai for students' service is on business catering luxuries life for the three top university administrators. Moreover, there is no feeding while the budget which was endorsed last year is under the custody of the administration.
Your Excellency, we students currently residing in the hostels, are coming from far-away states and have no relatives or friends in Juba to stay with, so we entered the University hostels and being emanated from poor families backgrounds, perhaps with nothing but education as the only comfort. To us, eviction from the hostels was deprivation of studies. We were confronted with two situations: either to obey and join the street or we stand for our right to education and accommodation. The same government that provides teaching staff with housing is the same government that caters for students' accommodation. Moreover, since lecturers and students are equal before the law, there was no point in evicting us from hostels to surrender our life to miseries just for hostels to be left empty.
Eighth, we students stranded in the hostels could not immediately secure transport money to go back to our respective states following indefinite closure of the University. But, we plead loyalty to relocation to Ramcial Hostel which was renovated last year when the administration and education committee suggested renovation of the hostel we were occupying. But when we proposed relocation they were overrun by hunger.
Again, as second option, we pleaded for transport assistance to facilitate our journey to our respective states. They demanded a list of our names. We summited the list with the hope that they have sympathied with our situation. But the list was instantly surrendered to University administration. Later, we were branded as culprits, criminals, civilians, soldiers illegally occupying dormitories. That was how badly we were portrayed in the media. Our reputation was tarnished in the eyes of public and later declared dismissed.
Ninth, Your Excellency, on 1st May, which was a public holiday-the International Labour Day, the University administration organised a squad of police personnel to compel students who were stranded in the hostels. They began their operation in girls' hostel. And in the process, the girls were joined by boys in the nearby Ramcial hostel following their desperate call for help when their properties were thrown out. The oriented police opened fire with live bullets and one of our colleagues by name, Luke Benga Taih in the college of management science, third year was shot in the arm at about 4:00 p.m. But they police quickly disappeared without being traced since it was a public holiday when everybody was expected to be off duty.
So, to us the decision by the administration to deny essential basic need like water is directly refusing us right to education because without water there is no life. Moreover, among us there are disabled students who are vulnerable to fragile situation like no food and water. They cannot manage to sustain studies. They go as far as river Nile to shower and wash clothes.
Your excellency, what prompted me to write this letter is that we are pale with stress and mental depression caused by reckless decisions made without prior consultation and calculation of consequences. The professionals in higher education have stopped to think through the situation adequately- what are the implications or who would be affected? There is no more care taken in decision making process by professors. That is why their decisions are contrary to obligation that social order requires thus, conflicting with our aspirations and ambitions. The higher education under the claws of Professor Peter Adwok and His colleague the Vice Chancellor, Professor Aggrey Abate's principles and ideals are destroyed by the deeds contrived to fulfil egocentric.
Your Excellency, in conclusion, my humble request is that South Sudan has hard-hearted compatriots and intellectuals with shred of nationalism embedded in their hearts and may sacrifice to serve their best as decision makers in higher education. The people with the dream of "South Sudan is my world and my religion is to do good." They will diligently work harder to up lift this nation from its knee! Long live South Sudan, Long live University of Juba
The writer is University of Juba student's activist
