Catholic University: A Paragon of Quality Education in the Republic of South Sudan
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President Kiir at the 18th graduation ceremony of the university of Juba, April 2015
By Makoi Mayen Chienggan, Juba, South Sudan
Sunday, June 6, 2021 (PW) — Having come out of a protracted war, South Sudanese face numerous challenges of nation building and state building. Among these daunting challenges is education, more especially higher education. The United Nations reports indicate almost 80 percent of the South Sudanese populace is uneducated or put better, do not read and write. That nine out of every ten children do not know what the inside of a classroom looks like.
The government of the Republic was and still is slow in responding to this dire situation. As a matter of necessity, the Catholic church, a friend of South Sudanese people since time immemorial, came in to fill the void. This is not the first time the Catholic church has ventured into the area of education to help alleviate poverty in South Sudan. Throughout the dark days of liberation wars, the missionaries were always available to lend a helping hand in the areas of education, health and agriculture.
For instance, in my community, they built a school and a hospital at a time when there were none of that kind in the whole country. That school produced well-rounded leaders that are serving in government and NGOs today and are doing their work efficiently and effectively. The hospital saved many lives that could have been lost, especially the SPLA soldiers who sustained injuries or were wounded in battles at that time. Many of us went to those primary and secondary schools and graduated with skills unmatched by our counterparts from public institutions. We used those skills to better the lives of our people and helped them get back on their feet after the devastating war. Then came another challenge.
Most of us who completed their secondary education in various missionary schools and who wished to further their education had no where to go. The only places where one could further one’s studies was either Khartoum- a place notorious for humiliation of South Sudanese or East Africa. Most of us who were brought up in the Christian and traditional African Animists setting could not entertain the thought of going to a Muslim dominated city and/or universities.
The only viable option we were left with was East Africa and that in itself poses another serious problem: money. Studying in East Africa is all the more expensive and would mean staying far away from families. Many decided to forget about ever setting foot on campus.
Unsurprisingly, the God-send opportunity came. The Catholic University of South Sudan (CUofSS) was founded in 2008. The long-awaited project was finally realized. The plan to build such a university has been in the pipeline since 1983, when late pope John Paul II proposed to the then president of the Sudan Jaafar M. Numeiry about a Catholic University of the Sudan. The first faculty to be opened was the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences in Juba. That college was flooded by those who had their early education in Catholic schools and those from other backgrounds alike.
The overall impetus for swarming the college was the quality of education that is offered by Catholic institutions be they primary, secondary, nursing or vocational. In the following year, 2009, the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences was launched in Wau, Wau state and drew many students from all directions of the country and of which I am a member now. As a young university, we only have those faculties that are deemed suitable to the present situation.
I dream big dreams and one of my dreams was to become a student of Catholic University. But I was uncertain whether this dream would materialize and I prayed hard. When my loving parents told me to pick the admission form from the university, I went wild with joy. “Has the dream come true!”, I exclaimed.
Fortunately I was admitted and was made to undergo some tests and interviews to prove my worth for qualifying for a place in the university. In the end I emerged victorious and so did the rest of my colleagues. Mind you, everybody in Catholic University is a victor. They all went through strict scrutiny to book their places in this prestigious university. They are my fellow “greats”.
The D-day for us the ” freshmen ” finally came. It was the final orientation. It is sad there is no such thing as fresh women but we indeed had determined ladies among us. On the chalkboard was the motto of the university that reads “The Truth Will Set You Free”. You may Wonder if truth does set people free in South Sudan but it does in our campus. Many continuing students turned up to welcome us and show us love.
That was characteristic of the traditional African way of welcoming a new born baby or a visitor for that matter. There was slow music playing; it was soothing to the heart and pleasing to the ear. Speaker after speaker enlightened us on the journey we would take, the hurdles we would face and clues on how we could surmount them.
Hard work and perseverance were emphasized and repeated that the words sank in our brains. We were deeply moved. One person who was outstanding that day was the Students’ Union President who showed us around the campus and made us familiar with our new found home. That was very kind of him. It was a warm welcome only worthy of champions.
On the campus, the students love themselves in a manner I have never seen before. This is evidenced by the fact that none of the students had ever quarreled each other let alone fighting each other in three months time. That is incredibly rare in some places. Though we come from diverse backgrounds and cultures, the chemistry between us is so strong that no amount of hatred or incitement from haters of solidarity can break it.
In fact we are the mini picture of the big picture South Sudan. We have set a precedent that could be followed by the rest of South Sudanese. That there should be no room for tribalism or hatred and that we must divest ourselves of all the “isms”. Believing in Unity in Diversity we have made sure our faculty is politics-free, and anyone who intends to inject politics of hate into the campus is condemned with the strongest terms possible.
On the academic front, it is reasonably beyond doubt that we are the best. Academic excellence is in our DNA. There is no point in elaborating on it further. Our professors are of world class standards. They are “learned men and women ” who got their doctorates and masters from finest and renowned universities from around the globe. They always sacrifice their time and energy to make sure they give us the right material.
In fact, our university has and will continue to produce many Abraham Lincolns and Julius Nyereres of our time because of their concerted efforts. We thank God for blessing us with these industrious teachers. I am afraid to say this but I must say it.
Catholic University is the Harvard of South Sudan. The indubitable fact is that it is the leading private university in South Sudan just like Harvard is in the US. Even when the government cracked down on illegal and incompetent private and public universities in 2012, it withstood the acid test and proved wrong the Doubting Thomases. Nevertheless, I am in no way insinuating that there are no challenges here. As a matter of fact, we don’t get anything on a silver plate. We toil and sweat to make things happen. Just like any university, it faces a lot of pressing issues too. What makes us different from the rest is our stamina and determination in the face of all odds.
In a nutshell, Catholic University is for you my brother and sister out there who long to quench their academic thirst. The only place that will provide you with quality education and skills that will help you outside the classroom, in real life is the Catholic University. The alumni of this university have proved their worth out there in how they handle their jobs with professionalism and aplomb. They are envied wherever they happen to be. You, too, stand a chance of being part of our magnificent family.
The writer contributed this article to the school magazine last year. He is the Assistant Executive Editor of that magazine. He is a second year student at the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences.He can be reached at: makoimayenchienggan@gmail.com
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