Africa-Press – South-Sudan. A member of the Specialized Committee on Higher Education and Technology in the National Legislative Assembly has criticized the chronic underfunding of public universities, warning that a lack of state support is forcing government institutions to operate like private businesses.
Hon. Zacharia Matur Makuer made the remarks during Eye Radio’s Sundown program on Wednesday, February 18. His comments follow a tense standoff on Monday between the University of Juba administration and students over unpaid tuition fees that initially barred many from entering the campus.
Quoting the Higher Education Act 2012, Hon. Makuer argued that public universities were established as government institutions and were never intended to function as private entities.
He blamed the Ministry of Finance for failing to meet its obligations, leaving university administrations with no choice but to shift the financial burden onto students to sustain basic operations.
“Our public universities were not made to be run like private universities,” Hon. Makuer stated. “They are government institutions, and the government should take full charge of funding.”
The lawmaker explained a critical legal nuance: while the Higher Education Act grants universities autonomy, they are not independent of the state.
He noted that while this autonomy allows institutions to make administrative decisions—including the introduction of tuition fees to stay afloat—the reliance on these fees creates a fundamental problem.
“In the law, universities are treated as autonomous, not independent,” Makuer explained. “They can do their operation to the degree that they can introduce something like a little tuition fee to charge the student to run the university. This is where the problem actually comes.”
Hon. Makuer cautioned that the current model is reaching a breaking point as more students find themselves unable to afford the rising costs.
He called on the national government to urgently address the funding gap and urged fellow lawmakers to review the Higher Education Act 2012 to clarify the state’s financial responsibilities.
Sustainable funding, he stressed, is essential to protect the public nature of these institutions and to ensure that access to higher education in South Sudan is not restricted by financial hardship.
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