Establishment of Postgraduate Educational Programs in Public Universities to produce skillful professionals may contribute to a strong Education System in South Sudan
By Abraham Mabior Rioc, Juba, South Sudan
Thursday, September 15, 2020 (PW) — Tertiary education is a desirable public good that must be acquired through tough and robust academic training programs. By definition, Tertiary Education or Higher Education refers to any level of education pursued beyond high school, including undergraduate and graduate credentials. The conferred advanced credentials include postgraduate diplomas, masters, or doctoral degrees. The aim of this article is to enlighten the general public and the leaders of the public universities to establish postgraduate educational programs in their respective Schools of Education or the College of Education.
At the undergraduate level, all public universities offer undergraduate educational programs with subject combinations such as Bachelor’s Degree in Geography and History, English and Literature, Chemistry and Physics, Biology, and Mathematics, just to mention a few. These undergraduate fields do not fully prepare student teachers and school administrators with proficient skills in management and teaching. Thus, the graduates end up with less knowledge that do not enable them to perform perfectly in the diversified and professionalized global markets in South Sudan.
Remarkably, most of the graduates who have no political-backing are suffering in silence with their undergraduate degrees at hand. It has become an obvious scenario in the context of job searching that when you present your certificate, you are told to bring degree as one of the prerequisite requirements to get a job. Once you struggle for a degree, other excuses are again crop up and you are instructed to present a master’s degree, and vice versa.
From the professional reality, these undergraduate programs do not prepare most of the graduates to think outside the box, but only make them think as graduates who can only go to the classroom and teach at the primary and secondary school levels. In light of these, it has remained a public outcry that some graduates end up with no intention to advance their professional knowledge and teaching skills due to a lack of postgraduate studies in these public universities, especially in the field of education.
It is imperative in the globalized world that advanced education is instrumental in fostering intellectual growth, reducing acute poverty, and boosting shared national prosperity. To no avail, a highly-skilled workforce is a precondition for innovation and growth. This is because well- educated people are more employable than unskilled ones, thus, earning for themselves higher wages as well as coping with economic shocks.
Given this background, the author suggests from the professional viewpoint to establish postgraduate programs in the field of education for all public and private universities. Though there are many postgraduate fields in education, the following master programs ought to be established in the School of Educations: 1. Master of Educational Management and Administration; 2. Master of Educational Policy and Planning; 3. Master of Educational Monitoring and Evaluation; 4. Master of Education in Comparative and Global Studies in Education and Development; 5. Master of Philosophy; 6. Master of Science in Education (Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Biology); 7. Master of Arts in Curriculum Development and Instructions/Teaching; 8. Master of Arts in English Language and Literature
In an academic reality, all these educational programs at the postgraduate level are teachable and manageable by South Sudanese professionals. In a similar vein, all these master programs are intertwined and could contribute to the establishment of a strong education system in South Sudan. With qualified manpower graduating in those disciplines and be employed and deployed in the education system as directors and supervisors, they will reshape the national education system for the common good of all South Sudanese.
To some larger extent, a master’s degree in education is a forward-thinking degree for teachers or school administrators, education officers, and education policy-makers. The study period typically requires one to three years of robust academic study, depending on whether the program is full-time or part-time. Master of Education is a graduate program that is characteristically focused on preparing student teachers for education careers outside of classroom teaching. Congruently, such educational careers may include school administration, instructional technology, or curriculum planning and design, and others.
In the foreground, earning a master’s in education in a teachable academic subject can lead to upgrading one’s professional knowledge and skills in the subject content. In other words, advanced studies in education can also help an individual to improve their skills, keep abreast of the latest developments as well as becoming more effective classroom teachers.
By specialization, these advanced educational fields tend to produce competent professionals with a focused knowledge base and real-world skills needed in the diversified and globalized labor markets. In public universities in South Sudan, none is offering master programs in the field of Education like other disciplines. Yet, College/Schools of Education in the public university have qualified academic and administrative staff who can do the job well.
For instance, at the University of Juba in the School of Education, there is the diversified academic staff who have taught in South Sudan and abroad both at elementary and tertiary levels. In the School of Education, there competent professors, Associate Professors, and Assistant professors who can teach these courses competently and excellently. We have qualified professors with instructional abilities and educational knowledge-base to do the job well. These include Prof. SibrinoBarnab Forojalla, Dr. Edward Momo, Dr. Natania Baya, Dr. Michael Baffoka, Dr. Jack Ngalamu, Professor Taban Lo Liyong, Ustaz Abraham Paduol Majok, just to mention a few. Both of whom and others have taught me during the Master program in Education in Emergencies.
As a scholar who has been taught both in home and abroaduniversities, I have passed through varied teaching and learning styles delivered by different professors from different universities. In this respect, I am made to believe that South Sudan has qualified professors with desired instructional skills who can teach all courses at all educational levels just like any other professors from around the world. By comparative advantage, there are no academic and teaching differences between the teaching experiences of the South Sudanese professors and that of the overseas countries. The difference could be the payment and working conditions which are inadequate and poor in the context of South Sudan.
For some logical considerations, I added the master of Philosophy though not in the field of Education, it is indispensable to be studied by South Sudanese professionals. I am of the view that South Sudanese should really embark to study philosophy at the postgraduate level to enhance problem-solving skills, clear some doubts on assumptions of realities and falsehoods. This will enable many to improve their memory skills so that they can start philosophizing realities rather than assuming things at intellectual and professional levels.
Notably, individual assumptions among some South Sudanese people have created more harm than good both socially, politically, ideologically, and culturally. Henceforth, studying an advanced knowledge base of philosophy could help to transform others from being public consumers of wrong ideologies to being consumers of right ideological principles at our social scales. At the University of Juba, Professor John Akec and his team have started to transform the university both administratively, infrastructurally, and academically. As the leader of the university, his innovative ideas and services-oriented heart to transform the University of Juba have spoken volumes at our social balances as South Sudanese.
From the reality-based judgment, his proficient commitment and dedication to serving his people through quality educational services have drawn close attention and admiration across different demographic and geographic boundaries in South Sudan. Congratulations Professor Akec for your commitment, professional dedication to serve your country wholeheartedly!Notably, most of the graduates in the School of Education have academic desires to advance their professional knowledge and skills in the same field. Nevertheless, there is no master of Educational programs in all public universities, they end up crossing to different fields for postgraduate studies.
Five years down the line, a master of education project (MEP) name as Master of Education in Emergencies was established at the School of Education in the University of Juba through the funds form USAID and co-taught by professors from the Indiana University and University of Juba respectively. The project was initiated and supervised by Prof. Julia Aker Duany, the Architect of the Gender Equity and Women’s Leadership Program (GEWLP) that sponsored 20 students to which the author of this article was one of the scholarship grantees.
Principally, let us use the South Sudanese professionals to improve the South Sudan education system at tertiary and basic levels. Establishing more postgraduate centers implies improving the national education system. One may say that establishing more centers need the budget and material development. However, the tuition and functional fees to be paid by postgraduate students can pay lecturers as well as meeting other administrative fees. Stay blessed!
The Author, Abraham Mabior Rioc, is a teacher by profession who holds dual Master’s Degrees in Education from the University of Juba and The University of Hong Kong respectively. He is the author of the forthcoming book entitled: “Scaling Up Education in Emergencies: A Viable Tool for Investing in Human Resource Development and Conflict Mitigation in the Conflict-Prone States. He is electronically reachable at mabiorrioc@gmail.com