Education is supposed to be a bridge that connects people to opportunities, dignity, and a better future. In South Sudan, many people believe that education is the only weapon the poor, vulnerable, and orphaned children have to change their lives. But today, I am confused and deeply traumatized by what I have witnessed and experienced in our education system, especially in universities.
In South Sudan, people assume that those who are educated are better people. They assume that education will bring unity, peace, and development. But I have come to my senses and realized that something is very wrong when educated people begin to bite others like parasites, sucking life and hope from the poor. Instead of lifting the vulnerable, the system is pushing them down.
I moved around different universities, and I tried to understand how students are taught and supported. But I never found a lesson where students are taught that they should not attend classes or should refuse to sit for exams. Yet in reality, many students are chased away from exams because they cannot pay tuition fees. This shocked me deeply. It made me ask a serious question: Who is supposed to pay the lecturers’ fees—students or the government?
We all know that the government has failed in many areas. There are very few government universities in the country. The University of Juba remains the leading and most crowded public university. The government has not provided enough universities to accommodate all students. Because of this, the University of Juba is full, classrooms are crowded, and resources are limited. But instead of addressing these problems, some leaders choose to blame students and chase them away.
One statement that shocked me most was when a vice chancellor said that “school is not for the poor.” This thought is wrong and dangerous. If school is not for the poor, then where will the poor go? Where will the vulnerable children go? Where will orphans go? Education is supposed to be the ladder that lifts the poor out of poverty, not a wall that blocks them.
No one is born rich, and no one is born poor forever. Life gives opportunities. Today you may be rich, tomorrow you may be poor. Today it is your time, tomorrow it will be someone else’s time. If God opens a way for you, you should not insult others. God is great for all people. Wealth and poverty are seasons in life.
The government of South Sudan must take responsibility. Education is a public good. The government must provide more universities in the country, not only in Juba but in every state and major city. When universities are limited, competition becomes high, fees rise, and poor students are pushed out. This is not justice. This is discrimination.
Being chased out of exams because of tuition fees gave me trauma and confusion. It made me think deeply about how the government and institutions view vulnerable people. What about poor children who are struggling to study? What about orphans who have no parents to support them? Are they not citizens of this country? Do they not deserve education?
It is painful to see many students stopped from sitting for exams while children of those who loot government money are taken abroad to study. These leaders steal money that belongs to every citizen, then mock the vulnerable. They treat students who manage to study locally as if they are less human. This is injustice. This is corruption of the highest level.
Education should unite people, not divide them. Universities should be centers of knowledge, justice, and hope. But when students are treated as burdens, when poverty becomes a crime, and when leaders insult the poor, then education becomes a weapon of oppression.
Forcing things in the wrong way brings surprises. When you force poor students out of education, you create a future full of anger, inequality, and conflict. When you deny vulnerable children education, you deny the nation development. When leaders think only of their children, they destroy the future of the nation.
South Sudan needs leaders who understand that education is a right, not a privilege for the rich. The government must invest in universities, scholarships, and student support systems. Lecturers should be paid by the government, not by students who are already struggling. Policies should protect vulnerable students, not chase them away.
My experience has opened my eyes. It has given me pain, but also a voice. I believe that forcing injustice will bring unexpected consequences. But choosing justice, compassion, and responsibility will bring peace, unity, and development.
Education is for all. Poor or rich, orphan or privileged, everyone deserves a chance. If South Sudan wants a bright future, it must stop biting its own children and start nurturing them.
Thank for reading.