Africa-Press – South-Sudan. Some South Sudanese scholarship students in India have criticized the 2025 selection list, citing unfair criteria and regional bias in the selection process.
Their complaint came after the ministry recently released a list of selected students chosen to travel to India under the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) scholarship program
Rejoice Diko, a South Sudanese student leader in India says the selection of scholarship recipients was conducted in a manner that lacked transparency, fairness, and merit-based evaluation.
“The selection was not fair or balanced. It favours certain tribes while ignoring others. This kind of tribal favouritism is harmful to our unity and progress as a country,” Diko lamented in statement to Eye Radio on Friday from India.
She also criticized the fact that only two of the 30 students listed in the widely circulated document online were female.
“Even worse, the issue of gender balance is serious. Out of 30 students selected, only two were female,” she said.
Diko added that the unfair selection has severely undermined the trust of many students in public institutions and robbed those who have worked hard for such life-changing opportunities.
She also demanded for transparent investigation into the recent selection process.
However, Dr Atem Kuir Jok, the Director General for Training and External Relations at Ministry of Higher Education Ministry, Science and Technology, dismissed the allegations, saying the process was fairly through a seven-member committee.
Dr Jok said there were more than 400 applicants applying for only 30 slots of the scholarships.
He said the committee then vetted the 457 applicants against the 30 positions given by the India government.
“A committee was formed of seven people. This committee said to nominate or select 30 people from the 457 applications. These 30 include AD. So, it was a joint work. It’s not a one-person decision. Not the minister, not the undersecretary, not the acting director for training by the committee authorized to do that work,” he explained.
Dr Jok did not explain why they were only two female students selected.
He said the ministry no longer distributes scholarships slots per states and administrative areas as it used to be the case.
He said applicants now apply directly online before the shortlisted are sent to the ministry for final selection.
“The applicants applied online to the Indian scholarship Indian University, then the lease is sent to the Indian Embassy, and then the Indian Embassy forwards this lease to us. The number of applicants was 457 candidates, and only 30 students or 30 applicants are qualified to go for this scholarship,” he added.
According to the Indian Embassy, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) offers around 30 scholarship slots annually to South Sudanese students for undergraduate, postgraduate, and PhD programs in India.
The program also provides training programs for South Sudanese officials, including police and diplomats.
For More News And Analysis About South-Sudan Follow Africa-Press
