Upper Nile University-Malakal branch. (Courtesy/Gurtong)

Students of public health at the Upper Nile University say they are not happy after the administration decided to prolong the duration of the course.
According to some students who spoke to Eye Radio, the public university administration has added an extra year to the four-year degree course without clear reasons.

The Ministry of Higher Education admission guide book seen by Eye Radio states that a public and environmental health degree takes only four academic years.

The students say that they have been struggling to solve the distress peacefully for the past three years but have been blocked by some elements from reaching the Vice Chancellor.

They say the economic crisis has placed them in a critical situation whereby they are unable to raise the required one year tuition fee.

The students call on the ministry of higher education to intervene.

“I want to bring to your attention that the hardest thing on this earth is when you are a scholar and at the same time a sponsor. This can be addressed when the ministry gives us a feedback because we tried to follow-up the case between the university administration and the college but the responses were not satisfying because they told us that they won’t solve our challenges nor will they allow us to graduate in four years time.”

“Financially it is a problem, because some of us in the faculty, sponsor ourselves and that is why we opted to come for four years because of financial problems. We may not be able to go for 6 years because of finances. If now it has come abruptly like this that we are going for five years , it is very difficult for our colleagues who fund themselves by using their micro-business…If we add another year it will affect us finally and this will increase the number of drop outs.”

“When we  came to this campus, we came with the knowledge that we will complete our our course in four years time but up to now the university administration especially our college is insisting that we must go until the fifth year. In South Sudan what we know is four years for public and environmental health course.

“The issue is we have confusion between the administration and the students of the college of public health. In the admission guide its written that the course takes four years. But if you come here to the university the administration is telling us to go for five years and that is where the confusion is.”

“Am appealing to the ministry of higher education to look into our problem because we are in a dilemma here. When I was admitted, I was not given any information concerning five years in the interview but actually it was four years When I filled my interview form I was hoping that I will graduate next year but, the administration is refusing our request.”

When contacted by Eye Radio, the dean of Student’s affairs – Joseph Mayom, declined to comment on the matter.