S. Sudan and Botswana sign MoU on tertiary education
June 4, 2018 (GABORONE/KAMPALA) – The higher education ministries of Botswana and South Sudan signed on 30 May a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the field of tertiary education.
A number of stakeholders and education partners attended the signing ceremony in the Botswana capital, Gaborone last week.
Botswana’s education minister acknowledged that South Sudan lacked teachers, vowing to assist the war-torn East African nation.
He said the MoU signed by both countries would help them come up with modalities and guidelines of how to implement the agreement.
Botswana’s assistant minister of tertiary education said the East African country was undergoing reconstruction in various aspects and thus needed to be assisted.
We will take pride in a future prosperous South Sudan, said Fidelis Molao, citing youth unemployment as one of Botswana’s problems.
He, however, said the MoU would avail opportunities for the two countries to exploit for the betterment of the lives of their people.
Meanwhile, Tut said South Sudan would be pleased if Botswana could offer his country 100 scholarships for vocational education.
He lauded the signing of the MoU, saying it will cement the relationship between the two nations in the tertiary education area.
He said while in the past they used to look to Egypt for tertiary education, they had since spread their focus to other African countries and identified Botswana as an ideal partner in this regard.
A number of South Sudanese students are currently studying at the Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources as well as at the various institutes of health sciences across the country.
(ST)