tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-252951052024-03-17T20:02:38.785-07:00JohnAkecSouthSudanJohn Akechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13842941624810362672noreply@blogger.comBlogger160125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25295105.post-61621084174263579652022-05-12T01:57:00.002-07:002022-05-12T02:01:35.647-07:00Reviving the Jonglei Canal Project is rubbing an old wound and wiping up anti-Egyptian sentiments<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihiEiDRBF3Gnm4XD-uzs-25v6d64b9BS2LoDmcJLgR4s5NFTQxsp1b9dpWmz98_vDxIeoQjgwSFJ-vojtk2o8LjZ7b25S_DjE_RwY6js1aBI9p_dlMx-4jxH1Vc3zDUANK2T1ZjviNL3tn_dAtCoQWsBxMHkWWjAB4fKnucPf_J4JgV4fGbw/s2326/JohnAkec2018_2-Cropped.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2098" data-original-width="2326" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihiEiDRBF3Gnm4XD-uzs-25v6d64b9BS2LoDmcJLgR4s5NFTQxsp1b9dpWmz98_vDxIeoQjgwSFJ-vojtk2o8LjZ7b25S_DjE_RwY6js1aBI9p_dlMx-4jxH1Vc3zDUANK2T1ZjviNL3tn_dAtCoQWsBxMHkWWjAB4fKnucPf_J4JgV4fGbw/s320/JohnAkec2018_2-Cropped.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">By John A. Akec*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Rubbing an Old Injury</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The recent pronouncements about a plan to conduct feasibility
studies on the defunct Jonglei Canal Project by the Vice President for
Infrastructure. H.E. Taban Deng Gai, with the backing of South Sudan’s Minister
for Water Resources and Irrigation, Hon. Manawa Peter Gatkouth, has raised
eyebrows and risked opening up the old wounds that were thought to have long been
forgotten and healed. The controversial project was agreed by Sudan and Egypt
in 1974 and the construction of the canal began in 1977 against the wishes of
South Sudanese population. However, seven years into the beginning of the digging
of the canal, the construction was halted by the Sudan People’s Liberation Army
in 1984 following the kidnapping of French construction workers and engineers
at the site. As a consequence, the giant equipment owned by a French company
which was used to carry out the massive excavation work was dismantled and its
parts laid to waste. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The revival of the resumption of debate on the Jonglei Canal
Project which was contrived to benefit Egypt and Sudan at the great costs for South
Sudan’s future water security and sustainability of the Sudd Wetland has caused
a stir and horror amongst the ordinary public, civil society groups, academia,
and legislature. According to Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation,
Manawi Gatkouth, the new feasibility study is intended to explore the
possibility of utilizing the 270 km of canal that was completed and abandoned
as a solution to the problem of flooding which Jonglei and Unity states have been
experiencing in the last three consecutive years (2019, 2020, and 2021). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The History of Jonglei Canal Project</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Jonglei Canal Project was first conceived by a British
engineer in Cairo back in 1904. The aim of the project was to increase the
amount of Nile water flowing to Egypt and Sudan from Bahr Jebel and Bahr El Ghazal
basins by 4 billion to 10 billion cubic meters per year, on premises that this
amount of water was being <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>‘lost to
evaporation’ in the Sudd wetland. Recovery of the ‘lost water’ to evaporation
was to be achieved through constructing of a canal , later named Jonglei Canal,
that will divert significant amounts of water coming from Lake Victoria and
then flows through Bahr Jebel directly into a junction a few kilometers north
of Malakal, where Sobat River joins up with the White Nile before flowing northwards
to Sudan and Egypt. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Successive Anglo-Egyptian colonial administrations, as well
as post colonial governments in both Sudan and Egypt, reworked and refined the
project concept in order to reduce flooding in in regions of Sudan, and to minimize
the negative impacts the project was bound to have on the Sudd wetland and its
ecology. The final design was commissioned in 1974 and implementation began in
1977. It involved the construction of a 340 km-long canal from town of Bor to
connect Bahr Jebel to White Nile a few kilometers north of Malakal , at the point
where the Sobat River joins up with White Nile.</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Benefits and Environmental Impacts</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Jonglei Canal was calculated to give Egypt and Sudan
extra 10 billion cubic meters of water that was to be equally shared between
the two countries. If implemented successfully, it would allow Egypt to
cultivate and irrigate an additional 2 million hectares of agricultural lands
along the Nile, and hence boost food security for its increasing population and
industrial development. Some of the benefits to South Sudan, as claimed by the
Project’s proponents, included draining of flood plains in Jonglei state, and
allowing agricultural and industrial development in the area as well as
enhancing river transportation between Juba and Sudan.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">However, such diversion of huge amounts of water from the
Sudd Wetland, according to environmentalists and water experts, has the
potential of draining and destroying the Sudd’s ecosystem with dire
consequences on the Sudd’s region biodiversity, livelihoods, culture, and
hydrological cycle of Bahr Ghazal and Bahr Jebel basins. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">One of the catastrophic impacts on the basins’ hydrological
cycle is that the 10 billion cubic meters of water eyed by Sudan and Egypt and
which evaporates from the Sudd and carried by the northern wind to south west
of the of the country is responsible for rains in the “green belt” that
comprises western Bahr Ghazal, western Equatoria, northern Democratic Republic
of Congo, and north western Uganda. And once the Sudd loses that capability to
cause rains through evaporation of its water, the “green belt” will cease to
enjoy all-year round rains, and the above places will become as dry and arid as
eastern Equatoria. In short, the cost will not only be borne by the nearly 2
million people who currently benefit directly from the Sudd’s ecosystem
services, but also its negative consequences will be felt far and wide in the
region including 97% of South Sudanese population living in Nile Basin.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Finally, environmentalists have argued that vast parts of
Jonglei are flood plains (from which parts of the region derived its name Bor)
had experienced frequent flooding in the 1960s. And that rushing to reopen the debate
on controversial and bitterly opposed Jonglei Canal as a quick solution to
problems caused by flooding without first considering less damaging options is
anything but wise. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Potential solutions to flooding include: construction of
dykes, resettlement of the affected population in high lands, and climate adaptation,
among others.</p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>John Akechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13842941624810362672noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25295105.post-26593435700581439962022-03-15T13:51:00.003-07:002022-03-15T13:51:28.811-07:00South Sudan: The Wages Our Public Sector Employees Deserve<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj-xd1PhO1eAuxfBTW4iAiav8S5SUzruWdwkXLAmVCus92b3bIiEjLzWbnxJGFTKaOgUdSWrJ1qACNGUd-mqzuNQEvq-uPVbVTBDUB0E8zXf3LJvS8J9yuwkYwn9k3xAKUA7HiDGMJ_8n7zMHY_8ibC53NTn2_GZaoNzDhXNRTSD44IbfZmSw=s2326" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2098" data-original-width="2326" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj-xd1PhO1eAuxfBTW4iAiav8S5SUzruWdwkXLAmVCus92b3bIiEjLzWbnxJGFTKaOgUdSWrJ1qACNGUd-mqzuNQEvq-uPVbVTBDUB0E8zXf3LJvS8J9yuwkYwn9k3xAKUA7HiDGMJ_8n7zMHY_8ibC53NTn2_GZaoNzDhXNRTSD44IbfZmSw=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<p></p><p class="MsoNormal">By John Apuruot Akec</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Individuals sacrifice significant amounts of leisure time for
labour by putting their skills and energies into work in return for earning
income. By so doing, they meet their families’ daily wants for food and
clothing, accommodation, education, healthcare, and travel and transportation. Country’s
macroeconomic performance is measured by the rate of unemployment (the number
of people looking for work but can’t find it) besides inflation and rate of
growth of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The lower the rate of unemployment
of an economy, the easier it is to find work, and the healthier the economy is said
to be performing. The reverse is true. Namely, the higher the rate of
unemployment, the poorer the economic performance. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The demand for labour is derived from economic activity arising
from needs by consumers and governments for goods and services. Hence, if there
is no consumption, there is no production, and hence the higher the
unemployment. And if there is no employment, there is no consumption, and the
downward spiral of an economy continues until it is broken by injection of new
investment, public or private. The new investment creates new jobs, and kick-starts
the demand for goods and services, and leading to economic growth.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What’s more, an economy that pays higher real wages per hour
of work, provides a better quality of life to its citizens than one that does
otherwise. Higher wages attract more individuals to sacrifice leisure for work in
expectation of receiving incomes capable of satisfying their wants. And here
lies the challenge for South Sudan. The nation has one of the lowest pay
structures for public servants in the region. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A taskforce set up by the University of Juba in
collaboration with Sudd Institute and Ebony Centre for Strategic Studies, and which
was chaired by this author in January 2021, was able to unearth startling facts
about the remuneration of employees of our public sector. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A private soldier receiving monthly wage of 600
South Sudanese pounds in 2011 was earning the equivalent of USD 200 a month.
Today, a private soldier receives about SSP 3,000 (after 300 percent increment in
2016 and and 200 percent increment in 2021, respectively). This wage is now worth
a mere USD 6 at today’s exchange rate. Likewise, a member of national legislative
assembly was receiving a basic pay of SSP 7,000 per month in 2011 and which was
equivalent to USD 2,300 per month. However, by 2021, the value of the salary received
by a member of parliament in real term was equivalent to USD 15 per month. These
low salaries cut across a wide spectrum of public sector institutions, with
exception of universities which have seen two consecutive adjustments to
inflation in 2015 and 2019 respectively.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Many factors, according to the finding of the Taskforce,
have contributed to prevalence of low wages in the public sector in South Sudan.
Foremost, the depreciation of the national currency against the dollar has
caused the stagnant salaries of public sector employees (valued in South Sudanese
pounds) to lose their purchasing power steeply. This loss of purchasing power in
turn has led to declining living standards of public sector employees. In a
well managed economy, wages are adjusted to inflation in order to maintain the
purchasing power.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Second, the shares of wage bill as percentage of public
expenditure and revenue have continued to decline sharply over the past seven
years. In fiscal year 2015/16, the share of public wage bill as percentage of
public expenditure stood at 51% (compared to 18% in Kenya). By 2019/2020, that
share had declined to 13% (compared to 17% in Kenya). Seen in terms of share of
public revenue, the share of wage bill as percentage of public revenue in South
Sudan was 78% in fiscal year 2015/2016 (compared to 51% in Kenya). By 2020, the
share of wage bill had fallen by a staggering 61 percentage points to 17%
(compared to 48% in Kenya in which the share of public wage bill fell by a
minuscule 3 percentage points over the same period).</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Thirdly, South Sudan came out to have the largest headcount
of the organised forces in Sub Sahara Africa. Our organised forces’ headcount is
twice that of Nigeria, three times that of Ethiopia and Sudan, nine times that
of Uganda, and fourteen times that of Tanzania. In addition, the military
expenditure (amounting to 61% of public expenditure) is fifteen times the share
of Nigeria’s and Ethiopia’s, twelve times that of Kenya, and twice that of
Sudan, Uganda, and Tanzania combined. It is an incredible drain on the economy
without apparent benefits in terms of improved security across the country,
while South Sudan’s organised forces remains as one of the lowest paid, poorly
trained, and poorly equipped armies in the region.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The solution? Adjust the public sector pay to inflation with
2011 salaries as the baseline, and using consumer price index (CPI) to compute
the new wages. Thus, a private soldier’s gross pay will need to rise to SSP
80,000 per month on today’s prices from the current SSP 3,000 per month; a
member of parliament monthly gross pay will be SSP 1.2 million when adjusted to
inflation; a government minister pay will receive be receiving SSP 1.8 million
as opposed to SSP 10,000 per month base pay; while a grade 1 civil servant monthly
pay should be SSP 400,000, and a grade 17 worker wage will come to SSP 55,000
per month. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">These are just a few examples among so many categories of
public sector wages that can potentially be adjusted to inflation. To do so will
count as a good beginning that must be sustained and improved as our economy
grows and stabilises.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>John Akechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13842941624810362672noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25295105.post-59133712484329963162021-10-01T03:44:00.001-07:002021-10-01T03:44:22.570-07:00Supporting Economic Growth Through Innovation and Entrepreneurship<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHNPnTXdCMq7FyojnjLvvZqJbLHjut95rGPOEzHWAX8uPhmmWvebCjkmSpYMwPV3DNGj4c5z40GPy2GsnyAUkUpYW_l5exVSV6N1rjr5moUu2J5MBOog4MxYj2rCAAq_3paPog/s2048/JohnAkec2018_2-Cropped.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1847" data-original-width="2048" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHNPnTXdCMq7FyojnjLvvZqJbLHjut95rGPOEzHWAX8uPhmmWvebCjkmSpYMwPV3DNGj4c5z40GPy2GsnyAUkUpYW_l5exVSV6N1rjr5moUu2J5MBOog4MxYj2rCAAq_3paPog/w200-h181/JohnAkec2018_2-Cropped.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />
<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">By John A. Akec*</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Institutions are established in order to carry out specific mandates.
At the University of Juba, for example, our mandate has been captured by our
mission statement as commitment to: <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">“national
economic empowerment and social transformation through provision of quality
education, pursuit of relevant research, promotion of innovation, facilitation
of technology transfer, revival of national cultural heritage, protection of
environment, and service to community.”</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">In our Vision 2030, we aim “… to become a dynamic regional and
world-class centre of excellence in teaching, research, innovation, and service
to community...” Our driving motto is “Inventing the Future, Transforming
Society.” Our strategic goals include serving communities, assisting in the nation’s
integration into global knowledge-based economy, and facilitation of transfer
of technology and know-how to key economic sectors.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Every single word in our mission, vision, motto, and strategic goals
is for a reason – it underpins our actions and guides every project we
undertake. To be brutally truthful, our world is replete with institutions
whose missions and visions lie dormant on their walls, hanged at their gates
and buildings entrances to inspire visitors, while bearing no measurable
relevance to the kind of projects and programmes these institutions embark on. It
is a bit like telling family and friends that you are travelling to Yambio,
when in fact you are onboard a Nairobi-bound flight. It is absurd! Certainly, we
at the University of Juba strive, within our means, to implement strategies and
pursue goals that are closely aligned to our stated mission and guiding vision.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">It is worth noting that “innovation” appears in our mission statement
and Vision 2030. Although not explicitly mentioned in any of our strategic
goals, innovation is the vehicle through which our university aims to serve communities,
help the country to compete in the global marketplace, and facilitate transfer
of technology to key economic sectors such as energy, communications, agriculture,
and manufacturing. Innovation, according to Clayton Christensen (2019), is
“…the change in process by which an organisation transforms labour, capital,
materials, and information into products and services of greater value.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">In prosperous societies, economic agents called entrepreneurs, employ
innovation to introduce new products and services. These innovations create new
startup companies (as most small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are), open
up markets, create jobs, and boost incomes for thousands of people and thereby enhance
prosperity across the board.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An example
of innovation that created markets is automobiles. Another markets-creating-innovation
is the penetration of mobile phones globally, which not only allowed us to
communicate and transfer money, but also have put computers and TV sets in our
pockets. These innovations have created millions of jobs locally and globally in
research and development, design, manufacturing, distribution, training, advertising,
sales, insurance, maintenance, and service. Nevertheless, there are millions of
smaller, albeit less known, innovations that have served local communities.
Here, the entrepreneurs were able to solve particular problems facing their immediate
communities. Many innovations have grown into global brands such as Apple,
Amazon, Alibaba, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and the like. They all started
small. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Innovation and entrepreneurship are essential tools in spurring economic
growth and lifting millions out of poverty globally, as they provide the means for
exploiting available local or national resources to their full potential in
such a way as to improve livelihoods and raise the quality of life for millions.
Far from being job seekers, entrepreneurs are job creators. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">While many individuals have natural entrepreneurial gift, entrepreneurship
can be cultivated. Through training, individuals can acquire new lenses through
which to view old problems and spot new opportunities, understand financial and
people management, know how to build great teams, able to raise finances, and
equipped to take calculated risks.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">In August 2021, the University of Juba launched a new master’s programme-
a multidisciplinary Master of Science in Entrepreneurship. About 70 students
have enrolled. All of them have a bachelor degree. They come from different
educational backgrounds; some from social sciences (mainly business and
economics) and others from science-based specializations (agricultural science
and natural resources and veterinary medicine). Our goal is to produce postgraduates
with knowledge and skills that enable them to conceive business ideas in areas
of their interest and start their own micro, small and medium-sized enterprises
(MSMEs). </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">This, for us, is a giant step towards living up to our stated mission
and vision.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">*This article was first published in Juvarsity Newsletter in September
2021</span></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>John Akechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13842941624810362672noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25295105.post-75820090683364855472021-08-28T10:17:00.001-07:002021-08-28T10:17:23.337-07:00On the Commitment to Educational Excellence <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"> <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3IxbHkGW6rlEUvn2FO-2Rwe66lHX9rTtRWrSA7R1JCLD46uu56oDjsMiIAqcQHHzseKKfMgXb8GaAA6NMzwUtR02J1_5cmbw5sFeI3_RDeEfkAhuiKyN5yLv3kNUfwU0pupqH/s2048/JohnAkec2018_2-Cropped.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1847" data-original-width="2048" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3IxbHkGW6rlEUvn2FO-2Rwe66lHX9rTtRWrSA7R1JCLD46uu56oDjsMiIAqcQHHzseKKfMgXb8GaAA6NMzwUtR02J1_5cmbw5sFeI3_RDeEfkAhuiKyN5yLv3kNUfwU0pupqH/w200-h181/JohnAkec2018_2-Cropped.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />By John A. Akec<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The pursuit of excellence is the stepping stone to building great organisations.
Think of Apple Inc., Samsung, Harvard, Oxford, Mayo Clinic in United States, McDonald’s,
Walt Disneyland, Makerere University, and countless other famous brands. These
organisational brands share one thing in common – unabashed commitment to excellence
in the products and services they provide to their clients. Excellence, for
them, serves as a core value, and as strategy for dominating their markets. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">From the founding of our University in 1975 to this very day, our
emblem has carried two words: “excellence and relevance.” From 2014, however, we
have adopted a new line tag: “inventing the future and transforming society” in
order to drive University of Juba’s Vision 2030. Some of our stakeholders have
expressed concerns about this shift in emphasis. And a few voices went as far
as decrying the abandonment of the University’s historical motto. Such concerns,
though legitimate, are quite unfounded. And here is why.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">For start, our mission statement describes our University as a “centre
of excellence”. I quote: "<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The
University of Juba is a leading educational <i>centre of excellence</i> that is
committed to national economic empowerment and social transformation through
provision of quality education...” </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Moreover, the University of Juba’s Vision 2030 aims to transform our
institution into “a dynamic regional and world-class <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">centre of excellence</i> in teaching, research, innovation, and service
to community by 2030.” Our core values celebrate “scholarship, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">excellence</i>, creativity, and initiative.”
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">We must pause and ask ourselves why “excellence” was such a critical
organisational value to our founding fathers. Plenty of reasons. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Tom Peters in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">In Search for
Excellence</i> (1982), and lately, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Excellence
Dividend</i> (2018), describes excellence as “a state of mind, a way of being”.
That we recognize excellence when we see it. That excellence can be practiced by
everyone, everywhere, anytime; such as in saying “thank you” to a colleague for
a small service received, in listening more attentively to workmates or
customers, in shouldering responsibility and apologizing for our mistakes, in
lending a hand to colleagues who have fallen behind with their tasks, in over-preparing
for a three-minute presentation, and in taking great care when writing a short
email. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Tom Peters contends that excellence is not necessarily a long-term
goal that we strive for, or hope to arrive at some “sunny glorious day” in
future, “but a way of life, a way of behaving with care and respect toward our
fellow human beings, day in and day out, moment in and moment out.” And that these
human beings could be work colleagues, customers, students, alumni or members
of the communities we serve. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">A good case study for excellence in healthcare provision has been
described by Leonard L. Berry and Kent D. Seltman in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Management Lessons from Mayo Clinic</i> (2008). Mayo Clinic is a top not-for-profit
global healthcare provider <span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">founded
in 1864 in Rochester, Minnesota, </span>by Dr. William Mayo. Mayo Clinic is ranked
in several independent evaluations and reports as “Medical Mecca”, as “one of
best 100 companies to work for”, a place to go to when “really sick”. And by
its patients and co-patients as an “important national institution”, and as a symbol
of “what is best in American medicine.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">One might wonder how the Mayo Clinic achieved these stellar world-class
results. Easy. As explained by Dr. William Mayo himself in 1975, it is a result
of pursuit of ideal of service and non-profit, sincere care for welfare of each
single patient, interest of each staff member in professional development of
every other member, willingness to change in response to the changing needs of
society, efforts to maintain excellence in everything they do; delivering the
service with absolute integrity at all time (Berry and Seltman, 2008).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Finally, Jim Collins’ masterpiece, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Good
to Great </i>(2001), describes great organisations. He contends that it is not
enough to be “good”, but that, on the contrary, “good is the enemy of the
great.” He then argued in order to be outstanding organisations, companies must
be led by humble leaders, resolved to recruit highly talented professionals, do
well in their core business, have a culture of discipline, apply technology to
improve the delivery of their core business, and commit to maintaining high
standards over long periods of time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Hence, excellence is more than fine words engraved on an institutional
emblem or hanged on our offices’ walls. Excellence, in practice, speaks louder.</span></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>John Akechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13842941624810362672noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25295105.post-7100716478491380242021-07-18T22:54:00.002-07:002021-07-18T22:55:47.914-07:00Embodying the “Wisconsin Idea:” The University as the Arm of the State<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPdMiRmVOsj0pNuFXoyW2qPkQy7_Ty-lnRhmBFU790QaWF7fMEtspdcU9XaLc9Ubcg2HCuROjAsHM-JM0mCQhh1Bzywbrvs5xBFAo-nNVeWolamKZPl7qSf9Fcb_g46Pb29vrU/s2048/JohnAkec2018_2-Cropped.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1847" data-original-width="2048" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPdMiRmVOsj0pNuFXoyW2qPkQy7_Ty-lnRhmBFU790QaWF7fMEtspdcU9XaLc9Ubcg2HCuROjAsHM-JM0mCQhh1Bzywbrvs5xBFAo-nNVeWolamKZPl7qSf9Fcb_g46Pb29vrU/w200-h181/JohnAkec2018_2-Cropped.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p> By John A. Akec<br /><br />Universities, all over the globe, are entrusted with three missions: education, research, and service to society. The University of Juba is no exception.<br /><br />Endowed with hundreds of highly qualified faculty, and given its unique location in the nation’s capital city, the University of Juba is obliged to serve society by constructively engaging policymakers and legislature and drafting policies, laws, and regulations that can help propel the country forward. It is nothing peculiar to us. Throughout the ages, ideas that enable societies to progress have been passed around and shared among nations, and adapted to local settings.<br /><br />Traditionally, universities were known for exercising an ‘indirect’ or ‘silent’ influence on society through discoveries that others could be put to good uses and serve practical ends. Universities also teach the young to attain inquiring minds. These two functions belong to research and education missions of university. The Germans were the first to establish universities that are wholly dedicated to research. The British gave importance to training of undergraduate students and developing their moral and intellectual capacity.<br /> </p><p>The third function of university was added by the Americans who were the first to recognise the importance of higher education in providing knowledge and human capital required by a rapidly developing society. This was facilitated by the signing of Morrill Act by Abraham Lincoln in 1861. The Act required every state in the US to allocate land to at least one university or one college of higher education whose mandate was “to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and mechanical arts...to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in several pursuits and professions in life.” <br /></p><p>Consequently, the American ‘land-grant’ universities and colleges provided extension services that included field agriculture stations that advised farmers on seeds and the latest farming technologies. Their law schools helped develop new commercial codes. Their economic professors advised the state governments draft labour and social legislation. Evening programmes allowed hundreds of thousands of the working American adults to learn new subjects, and train for new careers in industry. Their schools of education developed model curricula for high schools in suburbs and poor parts of the cities. Charles R Van Hise, President of the University of Wisconsin in Madison from 1903 to 1918, opined that “the borders of the campus are boundaries of the state”. That became the ‘Wisconsin Idea’ that defined the American land-grant university. In the like manner, Kerr Clark, the former President and Chancellor of the University of California (Berkley), described American university as ‘the arm of the state’. In fact, for state universities in the US, there was no intellectual service that was “too undignified for them to perform.”<br /><br />On our part, we at the University of Juba are fully committed to the ‘Wisconsin’s Idea’, and are striving to advance our third mission of serving the society beside education and research. We want to provide evidence that informs policy design. Top of our agenda is an ongoing initiative to advise the Ministry of Public Service and the Ministry of Finance on the best approaches and strategies to be followed in order to adjust the pay structure and improve the wages and salaries of public sector employees in the Republic of South Sudan. We will advise the Ministry of Finance on reforms of the pension system and social security. We will work with the Ministry of Health in order to reform and enhance the quality and provision our healthcare system. We will collaborate with Juba City Council to improve waste management and improve the traffic flow around the city as well as land management and urban planning. We are getting involved in the enrollment of vocational training throughout the country. We will collaborate with National Revenue Authority to identify new sources of taxes. We will advise the National Communication Authority on improvements in telecommunication and ICT services. We will assist the Ministry of Defence in mounting necessary security reforms.<br /><br />In short, the University of Juba is more than willing to act as ‘the arm of state’, ready to assist in tackling every economic and social ill facing our country. Our academics will be playing the role of ‘voluntary civil servants’.<br /><br /><br /></p>John Akechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13842941624810362672noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25295105.post-69632487768434616152021-06-22T21:58:00.001-07:002021-06-22T22:26:30.567-07:00Thoughts on Service Leadership<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7GRpWqXbJMbo9dnU_IUSqZMTZhiaawGlCSjlCOptdNbUrI9S6PsYkTBEPvfhV4egEMB9HkCQhnGnuEri5opeS54livrGFxx0SXBYsBI0hyphenhyphenMz0f9Dy-7CURslDxohiJZeo5ZRe/s2048/JohnAkec2018_2-Cropped.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1847" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7GRpWqXbJMbo9dnU_IUSqZMTZhiaawGlCSjlCOptdNbUrI9S6PsYkTBEPvfhV4egEMB9HkCQhnGnuEri5opeS54livrGFxx0SXBYsBI0hyphenhyphenMz0f9Dy-7CURslDxohiJZeo5ZRe/s320/JohnAkec2018_2-Cropped.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p> By John A. Akec<br /><br />On the 15th of May 2021, the deans and directors of the University of Juba gathered at a magnificent conference hall in Palm Africa Hotel in Juba to celebrate the Annual Excellence Awards for 2020. It was the first time ever such an occasion has been mounted by the University of Juba. In that ceremony, certificates of “excellence in service” were awarded to sixteen members of the University of Juba’s staff for “exceptional works of service rendered in 2020” to the University of Juba community or the general public. My speech at that occasion was centered around the subject of ‘service leadership’. And in order to spread this message wider, I would like to share my thoughts on this subject in this monthly article. <br /><br />To begin, Ronald Heiftez and Marty Linsky of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government have defined leadership in their book (Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive through the Dangers of Leading, Harvard Business School Press, 2003) as a process of going forward and risking dying. They highlighted how opportunities for leadership arise in everyday life, such as when a neighbor watches a one-time nice kid down their street, getting astray during his or her teenage years after the mother had passed on, and mobilizes the community in the neighborhood to provide support to the father and the family so as to change the path of the teenager for the better.<br /><br />Each day, argued Heiftez and Linsky, brings opportunities “to raise important questions, speak to higher values, and surface unresolved conflicts.” And that each one of us has opportunity to make a difference in the lives of the people around us. That true leadership often involves exceeding our own authority in order to tackle the challenge at hand. That communities, organisations, and the entire societies need people from all walks of life to take up challenges within their own reach and not complain or think that someone else will come down from above and do it for them. <br /><br />In most cultures, it was always thought that ‘leaders’ are born and standout as distinct characters by their good looks, their extraordinary abilities, their attributes, and their skills. Not true. Leadership can be practiced by everyone who accepts to take up responsibility within his or her community. It can also be nurtured, learned, and developed. We often hear about different types of leadership. They include: transformational leadership, charismatic leadership, servant leadership, religious leadership, service leadership. <br /><br />However, service leadership is the focus of this article. It gained prominence when the structure of global economy began to shift from industrial mode that was based on manufacturing, to postindustrial mode in which service industries such as banking, insurance, hospitality, health, and education) take an increasing share of nations’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP). For example, in 2014, the share of service sector was 79% of United States’ GDP, 78% in United Kingdom, 79% in France, and 71% in Japan.<br /><br />This structural transformation of global economy has been accompanied by changes in organizational structure, human capital, and the required leadership attributes. And unlike the the industrial economies where major decisions were taken by the top managers, service economies give plenty of opportunities for individuals to play leadership roles at every level of the organisation, including at at the very bottom of organizational hierarchy. And unlike the concentrated authoritarian leadership for which industrial economies were known, service economy dictates the distribution and decentralization of authority throughout the organization.<br /><br />One more thing, in service economy such as higher education or hospitality industry, the goods are intangible. And that production method involves the cooperation between the producer (a school registrar or library assistant) and the consumer (the student). The quality of service depends on the quality of interaction between the producer and the consumer. The term for this production method is called co-creation. Bad interaction leads to poor quality service. Good interaction leads to high quality service. <br /><br />What’s more, there are no fixed rules or clear standard operating procedures in production of service. The situation can change dramatically, depending on who you are dealing with at the front desk. This requires service leaders to be competent in their job, have integrity and honesty to tell the truth, and a have disposition to care for their clients.<br /><br />Strive to be a good service leader in your space.</p>John Akechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13842941624810362672noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25295105.post-83098824349183568292021-06-20T00:15:00.003-07:002021-06-20T00:19:54.193-07:00What Matters Most is What you Can do for the Society, not What the Society can do for you<p> <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ7jzUeMJXqTgtZ_j9zKBKtp3aKUbK_AJrYrss0gjb8WHpTJlejZx2HyOnX6Xv1Rh5Qh7cnJgbFj5U0GAFGPTPC3aJ2dqJ70x4Py6JL5E9w02OpTo5ATsK7cxDOBNuHi8_Hjb-/s2048/JohnAkec2018_2-Cropped.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1847" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ7jzUeMJXqTgtZ_j9zKBKtp3aKUbK_AJrYrss0gjb8WHpTJlejZx2HyOnX6Xv1Rh5Qh7cnJgbFj5U0GAFGPTPC3aJ2dqJ70x4Py6JL5E9w02OpTo5ATsK7cxDOBNuHi8_Hjb-/s320/JohnAkec2018_2-Cropped.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>By John A. Akec <br /></p><p> </p><p>Speech at the 23rd Convocation of the University of Juba, Saturday 19th June, 2021<br /><br /> <br /></p><p></p><p></p><p><br /> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Your Excellency, General Salva Kiir Mayardit<br /><br />President of the Republic of South Sudan, and Chancellor of the University of Juba;<br /><br />Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology;<br /><br />Graduands and Parents;<br /><br />Distinguished Guests;<br /><br />Ladies and Gentlemen;<br /><br />All protocols observed<br /><br /> <br /><br />On behalf of the Administration, Staff, and Students of the University of Juba, it is my privilege to warmly welcome you all to today’s graduation ceremony. I want give very special thanks to H.E. General Salva Kiir Mayardit, the President of the Republic of South Sudan, and Chancellor of the University of Juba for honouring us with his presence. And allow me your Excellency, to say that the Graduands of Class 2021, like those before them, are blessed by your presence. We are humbled and grateful for your unwavering support. We do not take this for granted. And on behalf of the University of Juba Community and my own behalf, I appeal to your Excellency to feel at home, amongst your staff, your guests, graduands, and parents of our graduands.<br /><br />I would like to acknowledge and thank Hon. Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology for his leadership and for honouring us with his presence. I want to thank Hon. Dr. Manase Lomole Waya , the Chairman of University of Juba Council, for his unwavering support to the University Administration, and for his wise counsel.<br /><br />Your Excellency the Chancellor,<br /><br />Distinguished Guests,<br /><br />Ladies and Gentlemen:<br /><br /> <br /><br />Today, approximately 1,800 graduands (304 Females, and 1452 males) will be awarded diplomas and degrees as follows: about 685 Diplomas, 751 Bachelor degrees; 41 Postgraduate Diplomas; 256 Master degrees; and 16 PhD degrees.<br /><br /> <br /><br />The distribution of undergraduate graduates and postgraduates across schools and institutes is as follows: School of Community Studies and Rural Development (341), School of Business and Management (347), School of Social and Economic Studies (362), School of Medicine (39), School of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies (47), School of Law (78), School of Education (97), School of Computer Science and Information Technology (83), School of Arts and Humanities (85), School of Arts, Music, and Drama (4), School of Public Service (44 postgraduates), and Institute for Peace, Development, and Security Studies (11 postgraduate degrees).<br /><br /> <br /><br />I want to say congratulations to the graduands of Class 2021 for this great achievement. I also want to thank the parents for material and moral support to your sons and daughters over many years.<br /><br />Most importantly, I want to appeal to you, our graduands, to go out and serve in the community with diligence and integrity. To apply what you have learned in tackling developmental challenges facing our society. Be active citizens who are endowed with humanistic values, empathy, respect, tolerance, and to be conscious about your responsibility towards society. Know that it matters most what you can do to serve society, than what the society can do to serve you. You must be life-long learners, ready to listen to other forms and domains of knowledge; and be humble enough to open up to new learning that will allow you to succeed in various careers in the world of work. You must think globally while acting locally.<br /><br />I would like to encourage parents, especially those who have businesses to support universities, not just the University of Juba, financially. Such support will go a long way in improving the quality of learning at our universities for the benefit of current and future generations of students, and the society at large.<br /><br /> <br /><br />Your Excellency the Chancellor,<br /><br />Distinguished Guests,<br /><br />Ladies and Gentlemen:<br /><br /> <br /><br />As a University, we see our Mission in three areas: Education, Research, and Service to Community.<br /><br />On Education Front (First Mission):<br /><br />On this 23rd Convocation in the history of the University of Juba, we are indeed proud to report that since its inception in 1975, the University has witnessed milestone strides reflected in the growth of its faculty, number of schools, academic programs and student population. As I mentioned earlier, today we are passing out a total of 1800 graduates made up of 1452 males and 304 females.<br /><br />Currently, despite the myriad of challenges facing us, the University boasts nearly 24,000 undergraduate and more than 2,000 postgraduate students. We now host 17 Undergraduate Schools some of which also offer postgraduate programs, a graduate College, and Kuajok Community College. At the postgraduate level, we have the School of Public Service (SPS) and the Institute of Peace, Development and Security Studies (IDPSS). In addition, we host the National Transformation Leadership Institute (NTLI). We will admit students to School of Medical Laboratory Sciences and School of Petroleum and Minerals when we start a new academic year in October or November 2021. This will bring our programs to a total of 152 programs of which undergraduate programs are 88, and postgraduate to 64, up from 6 postgraduate programs in march 2014 when this administration was installed.<br /><br />However, Your Excellency the Chancellor, we do have acute challenges with laboratories and lecture hall spaces to the extent that students at times stand up in classes due to overcrowding. Our attempts to face up to these numerous challenges have always been thwarted by limited financial resources. As the leading public university in the country, the people of South Sudan are looking to us for leadership in the provision of quality higher education. We are expected to do more with less. But this philosophy obviously does have limits, and we want to bring that to your kind attention. <br /><br /> <br /><br />On Research Front (Second Mission):<br /><br />Not much is happening because of funding challenges. Few research funds that come through tend to address problems that are seen by donors as priority but not necessarily national priority. And they are very limited in scope. This is an area for national attention. Some research happens in our postgraduate programs, but is also constrained by resources. Without good research going on at the University of Juba, it will not be possible for us to claim a world class status.<br /><br /> <br /><br />On the Service Front (Third Mission):<br /><br />Increasingly, we in the academia, civil society, and the general public are concerned about the spiralling inflation, the rocketing prices of essential commodities in the market in South Sudan for the last six years and which has led to a high cost of living; while the salaries have remained static for a great majority of public sector employees over the same period.<br /><br />This situation has caused economic hardships as stagnant wages in the public sector continue to push the employee below the poverty line. The affected public sector employees include civil servants, government ministers, members of legislative houses, judges, doctors and nurses, academics and teachers, and members of the organised forces and law enforcement agencies.<br /><br />For example, a private policeman currently receives a monthly salary of SSP 1,500. This cannot buy a single meal for a family. A civil servant currently receives a salary of SSP 5,000; a member of Parliament salary does not exceed SSP 11,000; and a government minister receives SSP 20,000 per month. And hence, we are left wondering how can policemen, civil servants, members of parliament, and government ministers in South Sudan survive or cater to their families' needs, including feeding, transport, accommodation, schooling, and medical treatment.<br /><br /> <br /><br />Another concern: civil servants are working past retirement age while young graduates with energy are unemployed because of luck of pensions. In addition, medical treatment is now a challenge to all South Sudanese families because of spiralling cost of private medical treatment; and the absence of medical insurance cover against illness which many countries have, which allows citizens from all social ranks and incomes to have free access to medical care at the point of need. One British statesman once noted: “it is very bad to be sick when you are poor.” This is no longer the case in Britain after the Second World War when National Health Service was established and is now paid for by tax by British people themselves. It is no longer bad to be sick when poor in that country. Here we have none of that kind of solution.<br /><br /> <br /><br />Left unchecked, the situation could lead to social and political unrest in not too distant future.<br /><br /> <br /><br />As our contribution to finding home-grown solutions to economic challenges facing our nation, we as a University want to provide evidence-based solutions that inform economic policy design in the aforementioned areas of concern. Hence, the University of Juba and a number of think-tanks have been working since January 2021 on a framework for reviewing the salaries and wages of employees of public sector.<br /><br /> <br /><br />This framework has identified the challenges that exist in the current government’s proposed public wage structure, and provides alternative and better approaches to reviewing public sector wages, as well as propose new public sector wages and salaries that are comparable in terms of purchasing power parity to the region.<br /><br />The draft report is ready for sharing with the Ministry of Public Service, and the Economic Cluster this coming Wednesday. Afterwards, the report will be shared widely and we hope it will be adopted by our government. The Universities have benefited from the adjustment of the pay in 2019. We are using our experience to benefit all the sectors of our economy. Again, Your Excellency, your weight and support are going to be critical in the adoption of the new proposal, as it was in the payment of salaries for staff of universities in our country.<br /><br /> <br /><br />Key findings of our report include:<br /><br />1- The share of public sector wage bill as percentage of government revenue has declined from 51% in 2011, to 13% in 2020. In contrast, Kenyan wage bill has remained constant at 18% of government revenue since 2011.<br /><br />2- Currently, the security sector takes 72% of public wage bill. This starves other sectors of the government and undermine civil service.<br /><br />3- South Sudan has one of largest army and security sector personnel headcount on the African continent. It comes second to Nigeria. This is disproportionate to the population size of South Sudan (12 million), compared to Nigeria (200 million). Moreover, members of our security sector are paid very low salaries. It may be the lowest on the continent. This does not improve the security of the country at all.<br /><br />4- Large numbers of public sector employees are unclassified staff<br /><br />5- There is need to widen tax bases and improve tax administration capacity to collect enough taxes if we are to be able to improve public revenue and meet the cost of proposed salary structure. We have proposed a few areas for widening our tax base.<br /><br />Furthermore, the University of Juba has submitted a Concept Note on how to improve the delivery of health care at Juba Teaching Hospital and across South Sudan to Honourable Minister of Health, and we are still waiting for a response.<br /><br />Right now, Your Excellency the Chancellor, the service at Juba Teaching Hospital is very poor. As one co-patient described the Outpatient Department to me recently: “everyone is jumbled up together, blood covers the floor, and washrooms are all locked. It is a place of great suffering and anguish.” Your Excellency, something must be done about healthcare in our country and the University of Juba is more than ready to assist devise a new health policy.<br /><br /> <br /><br />Standing with national government to tackle social and economic challenges is not a responsibility that is only unique to the University of Juba. Far from it. It is a universal principle that universities frequently assist their national governments to solve complex social and economic challenges. And we, as University of Juba, cannot stand at the margin and watch our government struggle, and our citizens suffer without us offering ourselves to assist.<br /><br /> <br /><br />Your Excellency the Chancellor,<br /><br />Distinguished Guests,<br /><br />Ladies and Gentlemen:<br /><br /> <br /><br />Before closing, I would like to thank Prof. Mairi John Blackings, the Academic Registrar, and the Chair of Graduation Ceremony and his very able team for organizing this Graduation Ceremony for six years in a row, except in 2020 because of Covid-19 pandemic, under challenging economic conditions the country is going through. I want to thank the Deans of our Schools, and Directors of Institutes and specialized Centres, Departmental Heads, and Examination officers for making it possible to graduate this batch of 2019.<br /><br /> <br /><br />Very special thanks to our administrative, technical, support, and security staff for keeping the University of Juba working and afloat, every day, 365 days a year. I want thank President’s Protocol team; the SSBC crew, Management and the Ministry of Information for the live coverage. I also thank the Military Band, and everyone who contributed to making this occasion so great.<br /><br /> <br /><br />Last but not least, I want to thank our Masters of Ceremonies today. They are: Dr. Moses Hassen Ayat Tiel, Interim Dean of School of Pharmacy; Dr. Rose Costa Mapuor, Dean School of Medicine; and Dr. Al-Faki Chol Lual, the Dean of School of Law.<br /><br />I also want to appreciate the staff in my office: My Executive Director Bek, the Deputy Executive Director Nyanwel, Assistant Executive Director Suzan; Public Relations Germano Taban; my Secretary Margaret Wani, and assistant Ayeida, and the support staff Aida, Aliet, and Nora, my Driver Taban Isaac, and the rest for their hard work and support to me while preparing for this occasion.<br /><br />Thank you for listening.<br /><br /> </p>John Akechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13842941624810362672noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25295105.post-84526683708506708332021-05-24T21:29:00.001-07:002021-05-24T21:29:23.957-07:00On University’s Social Outreach and Constructive Engagement with the Society<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPy9PC1NRlZmGAbXnr964a9HBslLYBUNZ2txgtSXc74kjIH-LE2jraOOztP6irJpX_jVfljuoVmFPNk93SwyQIlB5ktK6Y3x5w1nQ42zTnVq4KXj00BMhZI6A3kswD7h8W_Kyu/s2048/JohnAkec2018_2-Cropped.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1847" data-original-width="2048" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPy9PC1NRlZmGAbXnr964a9HBslLYBUNZ2txgtSXc74kjIH-LE2jraOOztP6irJpX_jVfljuoVmFPNk93SwyQIlB5ktK6Y3x5w1nQ42zTnVq4KXj00BMhZI6A3kswD7h8W_Kyu/w200-h181/JohnAkec2018_2-Cropped.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p> <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px;">By John A. Akec</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Universities, throughout the globe, have been recognized as public goods; and are charged with the important responsibility of generating new knowledge, and unlocking innovations that advance and increase the prosperity of the societies they serve. Hence, in order to be counted as a world class institution in the 21</span><span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none; font-size: 10px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><sup>st</sup></span><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"> century, universities must be seen to be addressing the development concerns of the nation through their tangible and intangible contributions to the society.</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"> </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">As aspiring world class learning institution, the University of Juba is called upon to innovate and engage with its surrounding communities. The question is how can we do that? The idea of serving society is not new. Traditionally, universities have been known to carry out three functions: education, research, and service to community. Under the old paradigm, or the so called education 3.0, “community service” was treated as a separate activity that is divorced from education and research functions of the university. However, in the unfolding education 4.0 which will usher in a Fourth Industrial Revolution, community service is integrated into teaching and research, and as an activity in itself. How? we may ask.</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"> </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Let’s recall that education 1.0 started in the ancient times and extended up to the Middle Ages (14</span><span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none; font-size: 10px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><sup>th</sup></span><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"> century) and aimed to produce good citizens, involved one-on-one interaction between teacher and student, and was mostly concerned with imparting basic skills of reading, writing, and mathematics. </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Then education 2.0 followed the invention of printing press in 15</span><span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none; font-size: 10px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><sup>th</sup></span><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"> century, and allowed one teacher to educate many students at one single time. It enabled one-to-many education, and led to multiplication of learning centres and dissemination of knowledge throughout the world through published books. It extended continued up to 19</span><span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none; font-size: 10px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><sup>th</sup></span><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"> century. The invention of computer in the 20</span><span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none; font-size: 10px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><sup>th</sup></span><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"> century allowed universities to collaborate globally through communication technologies such as the internet. It led to exponential increase in the demand for higher education globally.</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">And finally, the advances of information and communication technologies in the 21</span><span class="s2" style="font-kerning: none; font-size: 10px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"><sup>st</sup></span><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"> century as demonstrated seen by prevalence of mobile internet, social media, cloud technology and big data, massive online courses (MOOCs), the Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing, robotics and artificial intelligence, advanced materials, and biotechnology and genomics. All that have ushered in the emergence of education 4.0.</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">In education 4.0, universities must follow student-centric pedagogies, allow for flexible curricula and learning schedules, prepare students for jobs that are yet unknown in terms of required skill sets, and to embrace life-long learning. The goal of education 4.0 is to prepare students to be global citizens endowed with humanistic elements, values, beliefs, and insights that will make them more effective members of the global village.</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">This can be pursued at several fronts. At teaching front, a teacher must be a facilitator to student’s learning, as opposed to being a mere content deliverer. Student must be enabled through new pedagogies to interact with the curriculum and the outside world. By so doing, the student will be in position to apply their learned knowledge to tackling developmental challenges facing society.</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Second, the research undertaken at our universities should be directed at tackling problems that are relevant to contemporary public developmental concerns. It implies avoiding the usual top-down framing of research questions by a professor, and moving to a collaborative form of research in which questions are framed around the immediate needs of the community. This community-based approach to research allows the stakeholders or the beneficiaries of the research outcomes to contribute in research design.</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">And thirdly, the goal of social outreach/community service ought to be nurturing active citizenship in our students, and to endow them with humanistic values, empathy, respect, tolerance, and keen consciousness about their responsibility towards society. The students will be prepared to play their roles as global citizen who have respect for other domains of knowledge, and possess ‘learn ability’ skills which is defined as “preparedness to listen to other forms and domains of knowledge, and have humility to open up to new learning succeed in various careers.”</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">All this is a tall order. Yet, it is a bridge our universities must cross if we are to participate fully in the unfolding Fourth Industrial Revolution, and attain world-class statuses.</span></p>John Akechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13842941624810362672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25295105.post-37349283832228999252021-04-15T04:26:00.001-07:002021-04-15T04:26:14.250-07:00The State of Higher Education and TVET in South Sudan is a Cause for Concern<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsAtP3OIH4amWTILzihdgCWBPRo2ix-l-xzinXxd_mNzQ2nSsOIAHR4rrr50EzNYQ_qwJ2mc_1cI-Aaqs1VZZzgyZT_sQ_kMajkqOB5du8ijB8YN61jqCAsseNGRNGEJq5s_aW/s2048/JohnAkec2018_2-Cropped.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1847" data-original-width="2048" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsAtP3OIH4amWTILzihdgCWBPRo2ix-l-xzinXxd_mNzQ2nSsOIAHR4rrr50EzNYQ_qwJ2mc_1cI-Aaqs1VZZzgyZT_sQ_kMajkqOB5du8ijB8YN61jqCAsseNGRNGEJq5s_aW/w200-h181/JohnAkec2018_2-Cropped.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p>By John A. Akec*</p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal">“You can only improve what you can measure”, was one of the
wisest things I ever heard coming from the late UN Secretary General, Kofi
Annan, the last time I listened to him alive at Africa’s Higher Education Week
in Dakar, Senegal, in September 2015. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mr.
Annan was pointing us to the power of data, especially the statistical data,
and its ability to reveal gaps and areas for improvements in any meaningful
human endeavour. He was certainly onto something. And here is why.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Early in the month of April 2021, the Regional Universities
Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), published my report
entitled: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Higher Education and TVET
Sector in South Sudan: Gender-based analysis of ST&I ecosystem. </i>RUFORUM,
which commissioned the study, is an educational, research, and innovation network
of 126 member universities in 38 African countries spread in Eastern, Southern,
Central, Western, and Northern Africa, with a headquarter at Makerere
University in Kampala, Uganda. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The report reviewed the literature of the status of higher
education, technical vocational education and training (TVET), in addition to science,
technology and innovation (ST&I) ecosystems in South Sudan over a period
that extends from from the time of signing of Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005,
to August 2020. Gender-segregated data was collected from 14 institutions of
tertiary educations and TVET institutions comprising the academic and non-academic
staff head counts, academic ranks, educational attainments of academic staff, number
of students enrolled at each institution, student and staff area of
specialization, type of degree studied, amongst others. The institutions surveyed
comprised five public universities, two private universities; and seven TVET
colleges and centres, and community colleges.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times;">Key findings of the report
leave much to be desired. Firstly, of 38,500 students currently enrolled at 14
institutions of higher education and TVET, about 36,000 (94 percent) of them are
in university sector, and only 2,500 (6 percent) are enrolled in TVET and
community colleges. it means that the higher education system of South Sudan is
‘top-heavy.’ In contrast, a well-designed tertiary education system should be
tiered or differentiated into different levels of academic focus, cost per head
of tertiary student, and the ability of students enrolled. A typical higher
education system in an Anglophone country, for example, must be ‘bottom-heavy’,
meaning the lower you go, the larger number of students it accommodates. The top
tier universities focus on research and generation of new knowledge. Top-tier
universities are highly resourced, charge higher fees, and admit fewer but most
able students. The second-tier universities o</span><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">ffer professional courses with
prime goal of producing industry-ready graduates. Their prime responsibility is
to supply the economy with educated human capital in various areas of
specialization. They are relatively affordable and absorb larger number of new university
applicants every year. Finally, there are third-tier foundation institutions that
offer diverse courses such as vocational training, ICT, engineering, and
business studies. Their aim is to produce graduates with skills relevant to local
industries. They are easily accessible by communities they serve, and are widely
spread</span><span style="font-family: Times;">. In German and Japanese systems,
some institutions are classified as academic universities, and others as
universities of applied sciences. The French system has universities and professional
schools. Research is conducted at research institutes.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times;">Second,
women are seriously under represented in all categories imaginable. For example,
of 2,600 academics employed in 14 institutions covered by the study, only 338
or 13 percent are females. That is, for every 20 academics employed in our
universities and TVET sector, only three are women. Amongst the 73 professors
recorded, only 4 are females. And of 1,100 academics that teach sciences, there
are merely 165 women (15 percent).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
terms of overall student population, of 10,000 out of 38,000 students enrolled
in 2020 (26 percent) are females.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times;">Thirdly,
about 19 percent of academics surveyed have PhDs. And 81 percent have no PhDs, and
half of them have only bachelor degrees. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times;">Among
the recommendations made by the report are affirmative action to improve women
participation, a move to differentiated system, and providing more scholarships
for postgraduate training, and creating scholarships to increase the pool of
women in scientists and engineers, among others.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times;"> </span></p><p class="yiv0323823535msonormal" style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"><span style="font-family: Times;">*</span><span style="font-family: Times;"> The report is available at </span><a href="https://www.ruforum.org/ruforum-reports" target="_blank"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt;">https://www.ruforum.org/ruforum-reports</span></a><span style="color: #1d2228; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 10pt;"></span></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>John Akechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13842941624810362672noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25295105.post-48931346842540566682021-04-11T11:22:00.014-07:002021-04-12T02:50:28.468-07:00Ezra Group is a forex business, with its electricity outfit providing the conduit <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEighOnw8wNaiZIoJ6tCtRev26FTMB-M1rmKnad-Vh7MtpmvUOP4eFnUVhak9tQ716LzXG2fKb2J_gwxpXpR0PXA_kjefGQ5-ZzEfYEZXWX7-Y08jvKkZz3_cviOshDqYESI_450/s2048/JohnAkec2018_2-Cropped.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1847" data-original-width="2048" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEighOnw8wNaiZIoJ6tCtRev26FTMB-M1rmKnad-Vh7MtpmvUOP4eFnUVhak9tQ716LzXG2fKb2J_gwxpXpR0PXA_kjefGQ5-ZzEfYEZXWX7-Y08jvKkZz3_cviOshDqYESI_450/w200-h181/JohnAkec2018_2-Cropped.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p> By John A. Akec</p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal">I have come to believe that Ezra Construction and
Development Group(Ezra) business model was designed to make huge profits
through access to highly discounted foreign exchange rate market. Selling
electricity was merely a means to an end. And here is why.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The current row over the delayed payment of the dues owed by
the Government of South Sudan to Ezra and that has resulted in continuing power
blackouts in Juba, has brought the Company under intense public spotlight. It
also raised many questions about the nature of the contract, and the business
model of Ezra. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In a press release published by The Dawn newspaper on 7<sup>th</sup>
April 2021, Ezra warns its customers that “the Juba power plant will cease to
operate in the next few days…unless the government … urgently made the US
payment as set out in PPA [Power Purchase Agreement] signed on 16<sup>th</sup> August
2017.” The press statement went on to say that “the Government through both the
Ministry of Energy and Dams, and Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, is
contractually obliged to convert the SSP received by JEDCO into US dollars to
pay Ezra for electricity it generates. The statement also acknowledged
the payment of 15% of its dues, and that the remaining 85% of its claims has
been delayed for over 400 days (or 13 months). </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What is more, the company statement says that the government
pledged in January 2021 that the central bank will transfer a sum of USD 3
million into Ezra’s account every month. Obviously, the pledge has not been
honored, and hence the current crisis in form of media war by Ezra and the
frequent and long power outages being experienced by Ezra's customers over the last week . Intelligent people are bound to ask questions about the terms
and conditions of the signed Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) that gave Ezra the monopoly of generating
and supplying power to Juba city. Details are sketchy and shrouded in secrecy, but the
information coming out into public domain leaves much to be desired. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">According to well informed sources, Ezra was signed up to
invest USD 300 million in 100-Megawatt power generation plants in South Sudan
on a build-operate-and-transfer (BOOT) basis for 17 years, starting from
November 2019 and until November 2036. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So far, a capacity of 33 Megawatt is claimed
to have been installed at an undisclosed cost. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It was agreed in the PPA, the story goes, that Ezra will sell electricity in bulk to
South Sudan Electricity Corporation (SSEC), a national public electricity utility
company operating under the Ministry of Electricity and Dams, which has been
pushed to the margins. As it turned out, the Ministry of Electricity and Dams,
and Ezra Group opted to form a new company - Juba Electric Distribution Company
(JEDCO) to replace South Sudan Electricity Corporation (SSEC). Ezra holds
majority 52% of shares in JEDCO, while the government, represented by SSEC, has
48% stake. According to an implementation agreement signed with the Ministry of
Electricity and Dams, JEDCO buys electricity from Ezra on whole sale at USD
0.373 per 1 Kilowatt-hour (KWh) and sells it to the public at USD 0.420 per 1
KWh or its SSP equivalent. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Furthermore, according Ezra, the government of South Sudan
agreed to allow JEDCO to exchange its revenues to dollar at
official exchange rate which is 75% lower than the parallel exchange rate. That
has not worked out as smoothly as was expected. So far (until the time of this
writing) Ezra has received USD 6 million from the government of South Sudan
since the beginning of the operation. But it owes KCB some USD 9 million in loans,
and USD 6.7 million loans to its suppliers; bringing the total debt owed to creditors by Ezra Group
to USD 15.7 million. At the same time, Ezra has in its KCB’s account some SSP 6
billion which it is trying to exchange at official exchange rate in order to
pay its debts to KCB and suppliers. At parallel market exchange rate, SSP 6 billion is equivalent to
USD 9.6 million. And at official exchange rate, it will be a hefty USD 33
million. If paid out at official exchange rate, Ezra can clear all its debts and scoop a profit of USD
14.3 million in its first year of operation. A good business. Or is it?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">To add to this controversy, a customer spending SSP 5
million a month on Ezra electricity can receive 1,607.6 KWh. This amounts to paying
SSP 3,110 per one KWh of electricity, or USD 5.0 per one KWh at parallel market
exchange rate of SSP 620 to a dollar. This is 11 times the agreed retail tariff rate. Not only that, Ezra claims that USD million it has received from the
government is worth 15% of what is due over 13 months of operation.
Meaning, the USD 6 million it has received is out of USD 40 million due in its first
year of operation. Multiply that by 17 years, and it works out to a hefty USD 680
million in addition to interest rate adjustment. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And that is not all. The network through which Ezra
distributes its generated power has been paid for by an African Development
Bank's grant of USD 38 million to the government of South Sudan, of which USD 26
has already been spent on the distribution network. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Still, that is not all. JEDCO is practically a subsidiary of
Ezra, although the government owns 48% of stakes. And despite all this knowledge,
Ezra has behaved all along like a 100% percent owner of JEDCO, while using a
publicly funded distribution network for free to sell its electricity.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Given what we now know, Ezra is practically a lucrative forex
business that is selling electricity as means to an end. Hence, there is absolute
need for a government’s probe into Ezra’s contract and operations in order to
lay bare all the facts; and take measures that will safeguard public
interest against Ezra’s monopolistic and exploitative behavior. </p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p><style>@font-face
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>John Akechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13842941624810362672noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25295105.post-76054306963567746932021-03-14T13:55:00.006-07:002021-03-14T14:43:24.257-07:00Academic Freedom and Societal Values<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh887GuCJXH4j_aDmt303u_ChXh4bL7qhnRQf5GHnNfbRYeYlIfQzlLAch5fPA1Q2DeexSvGAy_bYSEGzXYNcVdVS-LEXUQTuy_qUp8AA-uFtj5fktwFSFc5-8vnYcd4j_bgsTT/s2048/JohnAkec2018_2-Cropped.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1847" data-original-width="2048" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh887GuCJXH4j_aDmt303u_ChXh4bL7qhnRQf5GHnNfbRYeYlIfQzlLAch5fPA1Q2DeexSvGAy_bYSEGzXYNcVdVS-LEXUQTuy_qUp8AA-uFtj5fktwFSFc5-8vnYcd4j_bgsTT/w200-h181/JohnAkec2018_2-Cropped.JPG" width="200" /></a><strike></strike></div><br />
<p></p><p class="MsoNormal">By John A. Akec*</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Professor Clark Kerr, the former president of the University
of California, Berkley, has described universities in his book, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Uses of University,</i> as the ‘cities of
intellect.’ The occupants of these cities are professors and students who have devoted
their lives to teaching, research, and production of knew knowledge. By mid
twentieth century, universities have increasingly assisted the state and served
communities around them in some meaningful ways, through the application of
knowledge to solve economic and social problems. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In the words of Alfred North Whitehead, “the justification
for a university is that it preserves connection between knowledge and the zest
of life, by uniting the young and the old in an imaginative consideration of
learning.” That over the last six centuries, <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">universities
have trained the pioneers of human civilization. Especially “the priests, the
lawyers, the statesmen, the doctors, the men of science, and the men of
letters.” And that the universities </span>have been homes of those ideals
which cause men and women to confront the challenges of their times.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">These ideals have been preserved over the centuries by
granting ‘academic freedom’ that included but not limited to freedom of thought
and speech for the professor within the walls of university city. Derek Bok,
former president of Harvard University, has argued forcefully in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Beyond Ivory Tower</i> that the right to
speak and write as one chooses is fundamental to individual liberty and is essential
in contributing to a stimulating life. And without such liberty, no academic
can participate fully in an intellectual exchange that helps in developing
one’s own values and outlook of the world, and to exercise the mental faculties
of imagination that are uniquely human. That human progress over the centuries
has been made possible by major discoveries and advances in knowledge that
appeared, at first sight, as unsettling and distasteful to prevailing order. And
that only few individuals have the intelligence and imagination, and courage to
openly communicate these discoveries. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">By guarding against the erosion of academic freedom for the
professor, universities can ensure an environment in which academics and
students can be creative and most productive in expanding the frontiers and increasing
the stock of human knowledge.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">However, academic freedom has constantly come under attack
from multiple fronts, chiefly because of the emergence of multiversity in the
mid twentieth century that extended the function of university as an
institution for teaching and research to include service to community. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As a result of this extended function of the university to
serve as “an arm of the state” and an instrument for societal service,
professors have assisted their countries in war efforts, in designing economic
policies, and in solving social problems. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">That in turn led to the lost of detachment often associated with
the academic output. The involvement of professors with society’s affairs has raised
serious moral questions when academic scientists assisted in the development of
atomic bomb that was used to attack Heroshima, as well as in planning of the
fire raids on Tokyo and Dresden in the Second World War. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Similarly, students and professors at Columbia University
opposed the appointment of Dr. Henry Kissinger as special chair in
international relationship in 1977 for his role, as the US Secretary of State,
in the bombing of Hanoi, invasion of Cambodia, and lengthening of the Vietnam
War. Dr. Henry Kissinger decided not to take up the appointment after all,
despite the willingness of Columbia University administration to effect effect
it on the principle that Kissinger’s scholarly contribution had nothing to do
with his role as a political decision maker. Another case involving moral
dilemmas in relation to academic freedom was the decision of City College of
New York to bar the English philosopher and mathematician, Bertrand Russell, from
lecturing at their college, citing his views deemed immoral as they were
perceived to condone extra-marital relations. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">To close, in author’s view, while universities will continue
to protect academic freedom as the pillar of intellectual creativity, we must
also bear in mind that as long as universities continue to get involved with societal
affairs, academic freedom will come under fire from multiple fronts; not only
for political reasons, but also for moral standards the society expects of the academics.
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">*This article was first published in Juvarsity, March 2021<br /></i></p>
<p><style>@font-face
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>John Akechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13842941624810362672noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25295105.post-55274052435345054782021-03-02T01:23:00.001-08:002021-03-02T01:23:17.533-08:00The Route to World-Class University Status Way off?<p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd408NyxjkI9pVFxBVyWnLn_slVffoNNgqx5Nw1VVhVpOVgVgul0H6mIOEinlAm-uJXMaA7okaQeqBzWTEkW772Km0iRRt613GAKTObUe9-g_K9wMEciRUjEOuTAQ7rRQ1qsk1/s2048/JohnAkec2018_2-Cropped.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1847" data-original-width="2048" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd408NyxjkI9pVFxBVyWnLn_slVffoNNgqx5Nw1VVhVpOVgVgul0H6mIOEinlAm-uJXMaA7okaQeqBzWTEkW772Km0iRRt613GAKTObUe9-g_K9wMEciRUjEOuTAQ7rRQ1qsk1/w200-h181/JohnAkec2018_2-Cropped.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />By John A. Akec<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> <br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The World Cup competition involves 209
national teams fighting for 32 slots in the grand finale at the end of every four
years. The best, if lucky team, wins the coveted gold trophy. Other up runners get
trophies of lesser grades as recognition. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">In the academic world, in contrast, the names
of the top 10, 100, 200, or 2000 best performing universities from a list of
more than <span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">25,000 existing world universities
</span>are published annually in league tables of the world-class universities
by non-profit ranking organisations. These organisations include Times Higher
Education World University Ranking (THE WUR), Shanghai Jiao Tong Academic
Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), QS World University Ranking, and US News
& World Report global ranking. The Times Higher Education (THE) ranking awards
40 percent of points to institutional reputation. Shanghai Jiao Tong league
tables, On the other hand, use statistical data to rank universities.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Universities with ‘world-class’ status are
known for their highly rated research output, their culture of excellence, their
great facilities, and their brand names that transcend national borders,
according to Cloete and Maan at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">While the international league tables
fuel global ‘reputational competition’ amongst universities in research
performance, some of the indicators and ranking practices have attracted
criticism. These include using the number of Nobel prize-winning alumni as a
proxy for the research excellence, favouring publications in English, placing
the older and wealthier Northern American and European universities at the top of
the lists, and ignoring or undervaluing teaching and service to society. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Furthermore, about 70 of the 100 top-ranked
world universities originate from English-speaking countries. The rankings have
been influential in deciding who is eligible to receive scholarship grants, as
well as where good scholars head for work or study. Namely, ranking puts less reputable
universities at some disadvantage. Fears have been expressed that such
competition may eliminate institutional diversity as everyone strives to look ‘like
Harvard or Oxford’, a phenomenon called “institutional isomerism.’ </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Nevertheless, league tables can influence
the formation of institutional strategies. For example, because of ‘Harvard
here syndrome’, German government initiated the Excellence Initiative in 2010
that aimed to concentrate resources in fewer but competitive German universities.
It also experimented with awarding ‘foundation status’ to selected universities
in order to make them more autonomous and responsive to changing operating
environment.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Similarly, in Finland, University of
Aalto was formed as a merger of Helsinki School of Economics, the Helsinki
University of Technology, and University of Arts and Design, in order to pool
resources and strive to achieve world-class excellence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Generally speaking, global ranking tables
are dominated by top research universities in industrialised countries, also
known as Super RUs. This is a small percentage of all post-secondary
institutions and range from 3% out of 3000 universities in China, to 5% out of
4000 universities in US, to 25% out of 100 universities in United Kingdom. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">For research universities to flourish,
national higher education systems are required to differentiate in their
missions at post-secondary levels; and to organize and align their programmes
and priorities with appropriate missions. Some of our universities could
address the growing demand for access, while the flagship universities (Juba,
Bahr El Ghazal, and Upper Nile) align their research and academic programs to
national economic growth and social development goals, and to connect with
national and global knowledge economy. In some communities where uniformity is
preferred in order to create equal society, such calls for vertical, as opposed
to horizontal differentiation, may fall on deaf ears. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Yet make no mistake, the route to
world-class<span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Microsoft%20Office%20User" datetime="2021-02-08T18:24">,</ins></span> while expanding access<span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Microsoft%20Office%20User" datetime="2021-02-08T18:24">,</ins></span> passes through <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">differentiation</i>. A good example of a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">differentiated</i> higher education system is offered by the US state
of California comprising a number of private universities, and public universities
with three tier system of ten campuses of University of California with 220,000
students; state universities on 23 campuses with combined student population of
430,000; and an undefined number of open two-year community colleges that
enrolled 1.5 million students in 2009.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">As for us<span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Microsoft%20Office%20User" datetime="2021-02-08T19:01"> in South
Sudan</ins></span>, the route to gaining world-class status demands that our
flagship universities be well led and <span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Microsoft%20Office%20User" datetime="2021-02-08T19:01">well </ins></span>governed,
have critical mass of talented staff and students, and an unfettered access to
financial resources.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">By the look of things, we are still way
off the track.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style> <br /></p>John Akechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13842941624810362672noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25295105.post-91618288813915934962021-02-01T01:56:00.002-08:002021-02-01T01:56:49.862-08:00Looking Back and Looking Forward<p> By John A. Akec*
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRnGZRz4EYvaQjhODIaeUKJtrVutUGlQHvhsGGw51CEsLWQBligGw2qdwSeERU74AzLl_aQqwsxviRbiH9ZHY2DStDwjkc1nTVle-Eqk33LUIGhI9GkDKLcu3WnqM0WvkXrJo_/s2048/JohnAkec2018_2-Cropped.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1847" data-original-width="2048" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRnGZRz4EYvaQjhODIaeUKJtrVutUGlQHvhsGGw51CEsLWQBligGw2qdwSeERU74AzLl_aQqwsxviRbiH9ZHY2DStDwjkc1nTVle-Eqk33LUIGhI9GkDKLcu3WnqM0WvkXrJo_/w200-h181/JohnAkec2018_2-Cropped.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The year 2020 was
one of a kind for the global community, South Sudan included. It will be
remembered for the worst public health crisis in a century due to the outbreak
of COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-Cov-2 virus. All of us had to cope with the
impact of a pandemic that took lives and left economies across the globe in
tatters. No country was spared. A second wave of this pandemic is wreaking
havoc in parts of the world, aggravated by new variants B.1.1.7 and B.1.351
that are 40% to 74% more contagious, according to a report by <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The New Scientist, a </i>weekly science
magazine.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Looking back, we at
the University of Juba had our share of grief and sadness. A number of
colleagues died due to various illnesses. They include Professor Aggrey Ayuen
Majok, former Vice Chancellor of Dr John Garang Memorial University for Science
and Technology and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rumbek University of
Science and Technology, and founding Dean of the School of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Veterinary Sciences at the University of
Juba; Mr Simon Monoja Lubang, Associate Professor at the School of Social and
Economic Studies, and former Director of Centre for Peace and Development
Studies; and most recently Professor Samson Samuel Wassara, former Vice
Chancellor of the University of Bahr el Ghazal, two times Dean of School of
Social and Economic Studies, and two times Director of the Institute of Peace,
Development and Security Studies; Mr Andrea Ahmed Bawal, former and long-serving
head of Personnel at University of Juba; Mr Yanga Joseph Lagu, a technician at
Department of Fisheries, and so many others. Our thoughts and prayers go out to
their families and friends. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">On a more positive
note, we were able to make progress on several fronts. Foremost, our University
was able to organize and contribute to national efforts to combat the COVID-19
pandemic. We participated in two government’s high level taskforces on COVID-19
and colleagues are still serving on the Medical Advisory Panel (MAP) of the
High Level Taskforce on COVID-19.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our
students volunteered in case contacts tracing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Our technical committee provided public education on how our population
can protect itself from the virus. We also collaborated with the UNDP to conduct
a rapid socio-economic impact assessment on gender equity in South Sudan due to
pandemic which was used to review lockdown policies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Last year was also
unique in that from February 2020, we had 12-hour power on the main campus, and
24-hour electricity in staff and student residences. We were able to reopen the
University amid fears of the pandemic despite losing months of the academic
year. And although our University had experienced several student unrests in
the past year due to opposition to tuition fees payment, we were able to
restore order and calm to the campuses. The crisis enabled us to improve our
registration system and student identity cards production capacity. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">On infrastructure
front, much progress has been achieved to improve our physical environment.
These included the inauguration of a renovated Al Sammani Hall in February;
expansion of landscaping and paving of the campus; conversion of a store into a
220-seat lecture hall; turning a disused building into engineering laboratory;
construction of additional student washrooms; maintenance of 20 seminar rooms
with a combined capacity of 400 seats at our Centre of Human Resources Development
and Continuing Education (CHRDCE); maintenance of the main chemistry laboratory;
maintenance and refurbishing of University Clinic; and launching of a new waste
management unit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the Customs
(Western) Campus, a new gate with improved access was erected; the
biotechnology, geology, and physics laboratories were maintained; and solar-powered
lighting was installed for improved security at night. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">In student
residences, washrooms were maintained at girls’ hostel, and an accommodation
block with 160-bed capacity was maintained at Ramciel boys’ quarters.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Looking forward, a
campus-wide Wi-Fi internet connection will be launched in February 2021; more
student washrooms at both campuses will be maintained or added; buildings at
the School of Computer Science and Information Technology will receive a
face-lift; and access to our main administration building will be enhanced,
among others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Last but not least,
we have recognized colleagues who made very significant contributions to the
life of the University in 2020. I also thank every single staff of our
University for making valuable contributions in 2020. I am very sure 2021 will
come with challenges, but also <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>exciting
opportunities and blessings. Best wishes for a happy new year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><i> *First published in JUVARSITY News Letter, January 2021 </i><br /></span></span></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>John Akechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13842941624810362672noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25295105.post-26212038214414299302020-12-07T23:21:00.003-08:002020-12-07T23:27:20.908-08:00.Mass Higher Education Expands Opportunities for All<p>By John A. Akec</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1mKaCZLXmk9BibDjVYusH4GoUF61HtOqKuAyNkw13uojKOav9F5JfMLgFrEPjoOIxupJmUFNo-9jAKyh8zf3ySnUBImzfqB4IkqahU630ImIK4J5NTDlt0A0K7G72B_dYWwTn/s2048/JohnAkec2018_2-Cropped.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1847" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1mKaCZLXmk9BibDjVYusH4GoUF61HtOqKuAyNkw13uojKOav9F5JfMLgFrEPjoOIxupJmUFNo-9jAKyh8zf3ySnUBImzfqB4IkqahU630ImIK4J5NTDlt0A0K7G72B_dYWwTn/s320/JohnAkec2018_2-Cropped.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />The Juba Monitor Newspaper published in its 13th November 2020 issue an opinion article with a title suggesting that the vice chancellor of the University of Juba had informed yet to be named audience that ‘education is not for the poor’, without explaining precisely when and in which occasion or medium this statement was released. I wrote to the editor of Juba Monitor, Anna Nimiriano, asking her to present a proof that my office released such a statement, or she owes me an apology. I am still waiting for a response. <p></p><p>This message is not meant to be a rebuttal of what the Juba Monitor has published, although in itself is a cause worth pursuing in other occasions. Instead, my message is intended to shed light on the aims and cost of providing mass higher education, which has become the tool for social mobility and inclusion for the under privileged members of any society. </p><p> To begin with, it is reasonable to speculate that by demanding that students pay their tuition fees without exception, the University of Juba may be seen as pursuing a tuition fee policy whose unintended consequence may lead to the exclusion of those from lower income brackets of society. In other words, making tuition fees a prerequisite for accessing higher education irrespective of incomes of the families, can be interpreted as another way of saying ‘education is not for the poor.’ Many can find this sentiment convincing. Yet nothing could be farther from the truth. </p><p>The advent of mass higher education is not new. It started in the US and Western countries following the end of the World War II, as a means of increasing access to university and college education for wider sectors of society, especially poorer families and war veterans. By the turn of the twentieth century, Western countries had moved from ‘mass higher education’ to ‘universal higher education’ on the same par with primary and secondary education in order to create ‘nations of educated people.’ </p><p>The idea of mass higher education came to Africa quite late, and is still taking shape. Historically, African countries inherited elitist colonial university systems, modeled after British Oxford and Cambridge, and French Grande Ecoles. Their sole purpose was to train colonial administrators and political leaders for post-colonial era. They were never designed to be inclusive, comprehensive, nor development orientated. Higher education was free and benefited a tiny fraction and most able, or most privileged members of the society. By early 1980s, expanding university education to accommodate larger numbers of students proved financially unsustainable for most African governments. <br /><br /></p><p>Moreover, a World Bank’s publication authored by George Psacharospoules and colleagues in 1986 argued that investment in general education renders higher returns than tertiary education, and recommended a financing policy that gave preference to general education over higher education as part of Structural Adjustment Policy (SAP) for heavily indebted countries. It also called for cost-sharing in order to finance the massifcation of higher education through payment of tuition fees; and advocated for the opening up of higher education market to private sector investment. </p><p>Because the Sub Sahara African countries could not devise sustainable financing policies for expansion of their higher education systems, the sector stagnated between the mid 1980s and early 2000s. It also resulted in the continent trailing behind the rest of world in terms of university enrolment ratios. On the other hand, Asian and Latin American countries, as well as Russia, found ways to expand their higher education systems in 1990s and 2000s through cost sharing and privatization, in line with World Bank recommendations. But African countries have begun to catch up with massification. </p><p>Here at the University of Juba, we have a 15-year master plan (2015-2030) that aims to “increase access to quality higher education.” As a result, our student population has risen from 10,000 in March 2014 to over 22,000 by September 2020. This is expected to rise further to 60,000 by 2030. This expansion will not be realised without contribution from students and their families in form of tuition fees. The government will continue to contribute a lion share of financing in order to make university education affordable to broader sectors of our citizens, as opposed to providing ‘free higher education’ which is not sustainable. </p><p>I wish you all a very happy Christmas</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>John Akechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13842941624810362672noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25295105.post-12304108035655861712020-11-06T00:55:00.004-08:002020-11-06T00:55:52.556-08:00University Leadership: Making a Difference<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">By John A. Akec</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0mopLPdcXIN2jlMz4hYWzP_rbEmtznNoEt_DbFMzIy1Q-kkAHJgO2D84zQtuqtRKlT-Kplj4ibwk2rBsJrWlYMW7MlYgM8GVU7qP_1S2wKqyiosGUcAuTLDzktLXzpkjbwUnX/s2048/JohnAkec2018_2-Cropped.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1847" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0mopLPdcXIN2jlMz4hYWzP_rbEmtznNoEt_DbFMzIy1Q-kkAHJgO2D84zQtuqtRKlT-Kplj4ibwk2rBsJrWlYMW7MlYgM8GVU7qP_1S2wKqyiosGUcAuTLDzktLXzpkjbwUnX/s320/JohnAkec2018_2-Cropped.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Great universities do not just happen nor fall from the skies. They are made to succeed. The people managing them, and the economic environments surrounding them, contribute to their stagnation, or cause their rise to the top.</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"> </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">And in academic circles, we often speak of ‘Harvard here syndrome’ – the desire by many countries to have in their backyards universities of stature of MIT, Stanford, Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge, Chicago, ETH Zurich, UCL, Cornel, Edinburgh, Yale, Columbia, Imperial, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Tokyo, Peking, and such like. These are just few names gleaned from the list of 1,000 top world-class universities by QS World University Ranking 2020. They were selected and ranked for their excellence in teaching and high impact research output.</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"> </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">And it is worth mentioning that In this year’s QS World University Ranking, only 13 African universities were listed among the top-ranked 1,000 global universities. These are: Cape Town, American University in Cairo, University of Witswatersrand, Stellenbosch, Johannesburg, Cairo, Pretoria, Ain Shams, Alexandria, Assuit, Rhodes, Kwazulu-Natal, and Western Cape. It does not escape noting that the list is dominated by South African universities (8), and Egyptian universities (5), in line with their economic status and political clout on the global stage.</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"> </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Being absent from the top 1000 global universities ranking does not mean the end of the road for a university. The global higher education market has over 25,000 universities, and counting. India, United States, China, Indonesia, Brazil, Russia, and Japan lead with a combined lion share of 17,000 universities between them, or host 70% of recorded universities in the world. Many universities across the globe are serving their communities and helping their nations to weather competition in knowledge intensive sectors of global economy. Still some universities are doing better than others.</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"> </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">And certainly, national higher education policies and financing afforded by governments to support teaching and research, and infrastructure development, play a great role in determining how universities thrive. However, assuming that all other things remain equal, how universities are individually led or managed is a differentiating factor between success or failure.</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"> </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Successful universities are ones that ‘do better than their circumstances might have allowed them’, or those able ‘to punch above their weights’, according to Michael Shattock of the University of Warwick Business School, and visiting fellow at the Institute of Education, University of London.</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"> </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">In his book, Managing Successful Universities (2009), Shattock contends that success does not happen overnight because of a one off critical decision by a manager, but comes about as a result of university managers taking many small, but right decisions over a long period of time. These decisions reinforce one another to produce cumulative effect that sustains the organisation in an upward trajectory. Moreover, opportunities for success are significantly enhanced when university leaders and managers are able to create organisational culture which supports and maintains consistency of purpose, as opposed to a culture in which decisions taken at different levels pull the organisation in different directions.</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"> </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Furthermore, increasingly reforms are being enacted in many jurisdictions that require the universities to act like businesses corporations -- agile and capable of allocating their resources efficiently and effectively; to ‘do more with less’, and to respond quickly to their changing environments without much ado or delay, according to New Public Management theory (NPM).</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"> </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Traditionally, power in university is diffused amongst professoriate heading different academic units, and which requires university presidents, vice chancellors, or rectors to carry out time-consuming consultations with the collegiate before taking major decisions. However, the ascendency of New Public Management theory has called for the centralization of authority and strengthening of the position of university presidents, vice chancellors, and rectors; and that the academic Deans become the ‘Manager-Deans’ in charge of implementing university visions and strategies within their faculties.</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"> </span></p><p></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Thus, the university presidents, vice chancellors, and rectors are no longer ‘the first among equals’, but powerful vision makers, plan bearers, motivators, initiators, administrators, mediators, and ‘revolutionaries from on high’, pumps, or “bottlenecks’, among other meaningful characteristics of the difficult job. They better make good of it by striving to make a difference.</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">*First published in JUVARSITY Newsletter of University of Juba Vol 3 No. 6 November 2020</span></p>John Akechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13842941624810362672noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25295105.post-85528891091700352892020-10-12T04:48:00.000-07:002020-10-12T04:48:03.686-07:00Thoughts on University Autonomy<p> John A. Akec</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqc1GFiqkVLAVnkOdfxAEU5QKILjh2XN-uF6fDLfTFULh7VMpc94Vtvg1ayMhii3Rh4e4qRDddpPV5M7U3XIBz4tOQ9VMPH9bqS8mvf0JdKAAecuWATg9D0S_8zdS02A1YdoQd/s2048/JohnAkec2018_2-Cropped.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1847" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqc1GFiqkVLAVnkOdfxAEU5QKILjh2XN-uF6fDLfTFULh7VMpc94Vtvg1ayMhii3Rh4e4qRDddpPV5M7U3XIBz4tOQ9VMPH9bqS8mvf0JdKAAecuWATg9D0S_8zdS02A1YdoQd/s320/JohnAkec2018_2-Cropped.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">When I was growing up, I did not see myself working anywhere else except serving as academic at university. And as far as I was concerned and could remember, being a university professor was the most fascinating vocation to pursue. I didn’t care and didn’t matter which particular university I was going to end up at. And by the way, so far, I have no regrets.</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"> </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Universities in many ways are very similar in what they do, in how they look, their rituals and traditions are the same, and in type of customer base they serve; from Harvard, to Oxford; from Berlin to Paris; from Cape Town to Nairobi and Makerere; you name it. They share awful lot in common. Not surprisingly, universities trace their linage to Greek academies that were established by Plato, Pythagoras, and Sophists back in the sixth century Greece. The departments of humanities at our universities are rooted in Plato academies that were devoted to discovering truth for its own sake, and truth for philosophers destined to be kings. Engineering and science departments originated from Pythagorean academies which taught mathematics and astronomy. And our of social sciences departments drew their inspiration from Sophists who taught rhetoric seen as necessary for success in life.</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"> </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">The modern university began to take shape in the medieval era, and was defined as a “community of masters and students” with a unique personality and soul. This unique personality is identified by “a name and a central location, masters with a degree of autonomy, students, a system of lectures, and a procedure for examinations and degrees…and an administrative structure with its faculties”, according to Clark Kerr.</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"> </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Early universities were founded and run by religious institutions, mainly Christian monasteries and Islamic madrasas, and support by the kings. Their targets were elitist boys. However, the development of printing press in the sixteenths century enabled books to be published in large numbers, and led to spread of knowledge. It also allowed learning to move from the ancient system of one-to-one instruction, to one-to-many learning mode of today. As universities spread, higher education began to massify with support of the church. Other universities were established as private foundations supported by endowments from wealthy individuals. The number of universities increased from 10 universities between 1800 and 1809, to 131 universities world wide between 1850 and 1859. And by 1990s, the number of university degrees awarded in the United States alone rose to 1.05 million degrees compared to 28,600 in early 1900s. And by 2000, US alone had some 4000 higher education institutions.</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"> </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Furthermore, from seventeenth century, governments influence on universities began to increase as the religious influence was beginning to wane. In fact, university today can neither be strictly classified as private or public, but unique. And while more than 80% of European universities would classify as ‘public,’ the majority of leading US universities are private foundations, and most civic universities in Britain have foundation status. And compared to American or British universities, the European, Japanese, and Chinese universities are heavily regulated by the state. Whereas, the Anglo-Saxon universities (American, British, and Australian), enjoy more autonomy than anywhere in the world. Influence is exercised by their governments indirectly by their governments through incentive systems and performance based funding.</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"> </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">And as higher education continues to massify globally in order to include those from lower income brackets, public funding to universities has been declining. And the governments are encouraging universities to innovate and reduce overdependence on public funding. And research has also has shown that heavy regulation by the state can stifle creativity and ability of universities to think out of box and react promptly to the opportunities and threats in their operating environments. Hence, the current global trend is tilting towards shifting of the university to the American and British governance models that give universities more autonomy.</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"> </span></p><p></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Finally, the University of Juba has many values that support our vision. Beside cherishing independent thought, celebration of scholarship, creativity, and initiative; is the University autonomy. Thus, through our governing structures, guided by our internal statues; and what we see to serve the best interests of our students and staff, we will continue to respond promptly to trends and changes in our operating environments, nationally, regionally, and globally.</span></p>John Akechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13842941624810362672noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25295105.post-66632719289705173762020-09-13T01:32:00.000-07:002020-09-13T01:32:10.651-07:00 Towards a Service-Oriented and Borderless University<p>By John A Akec*</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUG7JBrg13mPnkIfkWE1-ZKpu2qLsHSL5rSVstFdgQ5F7Om37acOaPR-ZiYG9Wpr4Q9RfreOCIs1EXJDGmLjMUnQxdz-SNxy0d9BBbHuWsiQszkEnTVn2oaiYcKVdyfojx2CMN/s2048/JohnAkec2018_2-Cropped.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1847" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUG7JBrg13mPnkIfkWE1-ZKpu2qLsHSL5rSVstFdgQ5F7Om37acOaPR-ZiYG9Wpr4Q9RfreOCIs1EXJDGmLjMUnQxdz-SNxy0d9BBbHuWsiQszkEnTVn2oaiYcKVdyfojx2CMN/s320/JohnAkec2018_2-Cropped.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />The University of Juba was founded in 1975 on a simple, yet powerful idea of ‘relevance’ – the imperative of addressing itself to tackling the pressing societal needs of the time. Hence, from the late 1970s, and throughout the 1980s, the University of Juba sought to train civil servants for the then autonomous government of Southern Sudan. The initial focus of the studies was on education, natural and environmental studies, social and economic studies, adult education and training, and later, medicine. These were areas of great priority for Southern Sudan. And beginning around 1997, our University started to expand horizontally to offer programmes in diverse professional fields such as law, engineering, business and management, arts and humanities, fine arts, music, and drama. By early 2000, a number of specialized centres were established that included centres of peace and development studies, languages and translation, computer studies, geographical information systems, and diploma programmes covering a wealth of subject areas. And from 2015 to present day, we have added more schools, institutes, and specialized centres. These include: School of Public Service (SPS), School of Mathematics, School of Journalism, Media & Communication Studies, School of Veterinary Sciences, Kuajok Community College, and Graduate College responsible for coordinating the postgraduate programmes across the entire University.<o:p></o:p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">What’s more, the University launched the National Transformational Leadership Institute (NTLI) by 2016, followed by upgrading the Centre of Peace and Development Studies to Institute of Peace, Development, and Security Studies (IPDSS) in 2017. As a result of recent expansions, our student and teaching staff populations have risen from 10,000 students and 291 academic staff in March 2014 to 24,000 students and 800 academic staff in September 2020 respectively. About 2,000 of the student population are postgraduates. This is the highest number of students and academic staff our University has ever recorded since teaching began in October 1977. It is welcome news which will inevitably pose its own challenges in forms of additional spaces for teaching the increased class sizes, and recruitment of additional faculty to teach new curricula. Such ‘externalities’ are inevitable and will have to be managed with creativity and wisdom they deserve. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">And that is not all. In academic year starting January 2021, the University of Juba is planning to launch new schools that include School of Petroleum and Minerals; School of Architecture, Land Management, Regional and Urban Planning; School of Medical Laboratory Sciences; School Public Health & Nursing; and School of Pharmacy. New centres will include a Centre for Law Development at the School of Law, and Centre for Laboratory Technicians Training at the School of Education. The Deans’ Board has also agreed to launch evening undergraduate programmes in law, business and management, social and economic studies, and computer science and information technology starting this academic year 2020/2021.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-align: justify;">Furthermore, a new multidisciplinary master of science in entrepreneurship will be launched in this academic year. Areas of focus include agribusiness, environmental innovation, financial innovation, and social entrepreneurship. This master’s programme is being supported by a grant from Regional Universities for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) as part of its community outreach programme that aims at enhancing food and nutritional security, improving agricultural value chain, beefing up local agro-industries, and transfer of agri-technologies. It also aims at creating self-employment opportunities for women and youth.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-align: justify;">Moreover, the School of Public Service is planning to team up with the University of Warwick and Open University of UK on the one hand; and the Ministry of Public Service on the other hand, to launch capacity building programme for government officials. A pilot project launch is in the pipeline.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">To conclude, Charles R. Van Hise who served as President of the University of Wisconsin in Madison from 1903 to 1918, once declared at the start of his tenure: “<span style="background: white; color: #202122;">I shall never be content until the beneficent influence of the university reaches every family of the state…</span>the borders of the campus are boundaries of the state.” That declaration he called ‘the Wisconsin Idea.’ This ‘Wisconsin Idea” was emulated by others and became the defining feature of the American university model to this day.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">If anything, this historical note from American land-grant university gives us every confidence to continue along the path we long began to chart. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p>*First published in JUVARSITY Vol 3 No. 4 September 2020</o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><br /></o:p></p>John Akechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13842941624810362672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25295105.post-33093401347179213612020-08-11T13:32:00.001-07:002020-08-11T13:32:11.339-07:00 Why Chance Favors the Prepared Mind?<p>By John A. Akec*</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">When the University of Juba announced a contingency Plan C which meant delivering a home-based learning that is supported wholly by arrays of digital technologies, some concerns were expressed by many of our stakeholders (students, parents, and government officials) about the feasibility of such a project in South Sudan’s context. And I do understand their concerns.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">And before I delve into addressing such concerns, I would like to explain something about different plans the University of Juba considered for teaching during the Covid-19 pandemic.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">First, Plan A was the normal academic calendar that would have seen teaching beginning in May 2020. This plan was rendered useless under Covid-19 lockdown and closure of schools and universities in March 2020. The closure of schools and churches has not been lifted until the date of this writing. Towards the end of May, the University of Juba deliberated on Plans B, C, and D that described different teaching scenarios as follows:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">First, Plan B involves a hybrid system of learning in which students mostly (from science-based schools and departments), all first year and all final year students will be taught in small classes that are spread out throughout the day with teaching contact hours reduced by 50%. Under this scenario, students would download lecture notes online or given printed lecture notes during the lecture (for those with no access to internet). However, majority of students from social sciences, arts, and humanities will entirely depend on material delivered over the internet, or printed material delivered through other means, for their home-based distance learning, until situation change.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Second, Plan C expressed the adoption of complete home-based/eLearning approach in which students will have no direct face to face teaching as described earlier in the introduction of this article. Namely, students will use various digital technologies and online resources for their instruction and learning.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Third, Plan D stands for a scenario in which the University of Juba administration and faculty just “wait and see” what the government will decide. The Deans’ Board and the Senate of the University, through their various meetings conducted in recent weeks, flatly rejected Plan D (also called “Do Nothing Scenario”); and proposed Plan B as the best of the two worlds (between doing it in the old conventional way, or doing nothing) in the face of Covid-19 Pandemic, while endorsing Plan C as the minimum scenario to adopt. That is, provide some learning if Pan B does not get government approval. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Plan B was applauded by most students, while Plan C got a mixed reaction. Some of our stakeholders approved Plan C as necessary in the face of continued closure of universities, while others condemned it as infeasible, or amounts to “damping down of the quality of university education.” These stakeholders prefer that we wait until such time when it is possible to open all universities. Weak ICT infrastructure in the country and ICT illiteracy among students deem this project impossible, they claimed.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">In addressing the above concerns, I presented several arguments.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">First, I reminded them that some learning is better than no learning. In fact, studies have shown that long periods spent without engaging in some learning lead to deterioration in learner’s academic and intellectual abilities (this concern was expressed by UNESCO leaders recently in the context of South Sudan).<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Second, I urged that the University of Juba as well as all other South Sudan’s universities to see the challenge of teaching in era of pandemic as an opportunity to close the digital divide and catch up with the rest of the world by harnessing the available digital learning technologies to the full potential. In one of my radio talk shows, I reminded listeners about the fact that the opportunity for digital connectivity in South Sudan today are much better than the US and Europe’s in the late 1990s and early 2000’s. I lived in Europe during that time and I can testify to that experience.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Thirdly, that we will provide choices to suit conditions and needs of different students and staff for access to online learning and teaching resources. A special taskforce set up to study opportunities and available digital technologies for online and distance learning, as well as institutional ICT-readiness, has delivered its report. We are also talking to different technology providers to explore how we may improve our digital infrastructure.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Finally, come 31 August 2020, we will start teaching under plan B or C. This goes to support the mantra that “chance favors the prepared mind!”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"> <i> <o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><i>* Was first published in Juvarsity Vol 03 Issue 03 August 2020</i></p>John Akechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13842941624810362672noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25295105.post-61097026733297787432020-07-13T04:51:00.000-07:002020-07-13T04:51:07.807-07:00Rebranding of the University of Juba<br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
By John A. Akec<o:p></o:p></div>
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Eagles inspire humans in many ways. They soar up in the sky and defy the gravity to steal a broad view of the earth. We can only look and wish we were eagles to enjoy such a feat. What’s more, as popular story goes, when an eagle hits the age of 40 years, they go up the mountains and spent months shedding their old feathers, and putting on new once, before coming down invigorated to live for another 30 years. Biologists dismiss this story as a myth. But nevertheless, it’s a story that has inspired many a CEO for millennia.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The University of Juba has already passed its 40<sup>th</sup> year since the teaching began in October 1977. And it is absolutely important to ask ourselves the hardest questions: how are we being perceived by our stakeholders and the general public? In other words, how does our brand name stands today, and how may we maintain our brand name long into the future?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Foremost, we need to remind ourselves that a good brand name is not what you think you are, but what your public believes you really are, be that good or bad. And since our inception, the University of Juba has stood for <i>“Excellence, and Relevance”</i>, and we still do stand for those important values. Yet in changing world and context, we had to rebrand and find a new battle cry some six years ago. Namely, <i>“Inventing the future, transforming society.</i>”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Gone are the days when our prime mission was to train civil servants for the then autonomous government of Southern Sudan. Now, our mission in the context of an independent South Sudan has changed and grown to encompass, among other things, a full commitment to “<i>national economic empowerment and social transformation through provision of quality education, pursuit of relevant research, promotion of innovation, facilitation of technology transfer, revival of national cultural heritage, protection of the environment, and service to community</i>.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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This broad mission statement, however, does not mean we want to become all things to all people, but to stand to be counted when tackling pertinent national socioeconomic challenges through research and innovation; as well as providing high quality education to our students, and being of service to the communities in which we are embedded. It should not be a mere lips service, but a lived reality.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The above goals need to be reflected in our brand. Our brand image and our actions should be in complete harmony. In the age of social media which has empowered and placed the public in the centre of power, if an institution of higher learning like us does not give them a good story to to tell, they will give us their own story reflexive of how how they perceive our brand. And that calls for universities to have activity and consistent web presence.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As pertaining to maintaining our image, we have embarked on improving the looks and feel of our campus’ landscape, our entrance gates, our lecture halls, our libraries, our laboratories, and our student spaces. However, we did not stop at the improvement of the physical environment but have contracted KAVIBE, a Kampala-based branding company, to critique the design of our website and propose improvements, review and revamp our logo, and design for us the material for marketing and advocacy. These include University prospectus, flyers, and pull ups.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Yet more importantly, we as University of Juba need to stand for something. This will position us high in the minds of our prospective students and their future employers relative to other institutions of tertiary education, nationally and regionally. We can do this by identifying areas of strength and comparative advantage and strive to excel in them.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The question is: do we want to be known for our high quality research and teaching in engineering, in medicine, in law, in economics, in business, in education, in agriculture, in music and arts, in urban planning, in mathematics, in sciences, in computing? In one or two or all of above? And when we say we are “<i>inventing the future and transforming society</i>”, does our actions match our words?<o:p></o:p></div>
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I do believe that the answer lies in the action of each dean, head department, and lay academic. In short, it depends on all of us making our own contributions and pulling our institutional boat into the shores we want.<o:p></o:p></div>
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John Akechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13842941624810362672noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25295105.post-82034227092629156432020-06-20T00:30:00.005-07:002020-06-20T00:43:30.543-07:00Adapting Our Teaching Methods to the 'New Normal'<br />
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The current Covid-19 pandemic has led to closure of schools and universities in most but few countries. As a consequence, there is a temporary loss of education for 70% of the learners globally, accordingly to recent a UNESCO report. The WHO also warned its member states that the pandemic is going to be here for sometimes, and that countries need to learn to live with it. Thus, by implication, universities are required to adapt their teaching methods to allow distance and online learning to take place, if they are to remain viable in the age of lockdowns and social distancing imposed by the pandemic. Hence, this ‘new normal’ does place an enormous pressure on the University of Juba’s staff to rise up to the challenge. Our academic year was scheduled to start in May 2020, but was suspended indefinitely due to Coivd-19 lockdown that came into effect in March 2020.<o:p></o:p></div>
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After much waiting without a clear direction from the government’s High Level Taskforce on Covid-19, the Deans’Board at the University of Juba met on Friday 29<sup>th</sup> May 2020 for consultations, and agreed <i>a road map</i> and options for providing <i>alternative education</i> to our students through a variety of strategies and approaches. These include but not limited to smaller group face-to-face teaching, halving instructor-students contact time, provision of distance learning through a variety of online learning digital platforms such as MOOCs (massive open online courses), and distribution of learning materials electronically. Furthermore, we need to consider broadcasting of our lectures through radio and television, and the use of internet video conferencing and communication technologies such as WhatsApp, Skype, and Zoom as substitutes to face-to-face teacher-and-student interaction. A technical working group has been established to assess our institutional readiness, identify opportunities and challenges, survey different digital learning platforms available and to make their recommendations to advise the University on technological solutions that can be adapted that can work in the South Sudan context.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And there is no question that our academic and administrative staff are going to be obliged to fuly embrace communication technologies in their teaching and day-today-work in order to keep their jobs. It will be a do-or-die situation for those who have not until now embraced the digital technologies as part of their professional productivity toolkit. The University of Juba Administration will do whatever possible to assist those facing challenges in integrating communication technology into their teaching by providing some training. However, individual efforts to climb the digital ladder will be inevitable if one wants to succeed.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Furthermore, we would like the public to know that our short and medium term strategy for reopening the University will be to reduce the physical contact hours significantly in order to reduce the risk of spread of coronavirus. For example, a 2-hour lecture will be halved to 1 hour during which students are given handouts or instructor prepared notes, and are then quickly taken through by the instructor through the main points, and given opportunity to ask questions. The students then go away to study and explore the subject on their own at home, and communicate any further questions to the instructor by email or WhatsApp or any agreed electronic communication channel.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Finally, rather than feeling overwhelmed by the challenge of delivering education in the era of Covid-19, my colleagues and I at the University of Juba are thinking that it is an opportunity for universities and the country to embrace digital technologies in teaching and at work. And so, the way forward is to improve the digital infrastructure at our institutions by devoting more resources and budgets for that purpose, and by reaching partnerships with relevant bodies in the public, private, and NGO sectors.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Education is the light into a better future for the millions of our children and young people. And hence, it cannot wait. The ‘new normal’ is to learn to thrive despite the hazards posed by the pandemic to our world. All that is required of us is to shift gears and up the game.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I am pretty certain that we will manage just fine.<o:p></o:p></div>
John Akechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13842941624810362672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25295105.post-9944791991996235802020-05-04T06:29:00.003-07:002020-05-05T07:41:59.953-07:00South Sudan: Rethinking Covid-19 Response<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoaMUIOrdZQfXF_5R-UuvDNAv5A07N5knDt2EjB5d3OcCuZhoKhwkW7BAGhYEr54wj41hDtCmAyPZJKNOBVh1WsC2qVFyT_Duy9EGGefl900v-v_ukdvI3PS0MxT03T_J83alq/s1600/JohnAkec2018_2-Cropped.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1443" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoaMUIOrdZQfXF_5R-UuvDNAv5A07N5knDt2EjB5d3OcCuZhoKhwkW7BAGhYEr54wj41hDtCmAyPZJKNOBVh1WsC2qVFyT_Duy9EGGefl900v-v_ukdvI3PS0MxT03T_J83alq/s200/JohnAkec2018_2-Cropped.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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By John Apuruot Akec*</div>
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Given the speed of the virus, there is a need to review our national
Covid-19 response strategies in order to accelerate our readiness and gain a
head start on the virus.</div>
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Just in one month, our country has moved from 4 Covid-19
cases to 49 cases, and still increasing. And judging by the steep rise in
numbers of Covid-19 cases elsewhere, such as seen in Somalia, where the number of
cases shot up sharply from just 4 cases and no deaths at the beginning of April,
to 722 cases and 32 deaths by the first week of May 2020; one can estimate that
South Sudan could see the number of cases rising to 4,600 by June, and possibly
460,000 by August or September 2020 (if ever we are able to test and report
them). This calls for a pause and rethinking of our current strategies for
combating coronavirus pandemic. </div>
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Firstly, in order to measure the level of prevalence of the
virus in the community, there is a clear need to move quickly to widespread testing
of at least 500 cases per week at selected clinics and primary health care
centres across Juba city. This was agreed by the High Level Taskforce on
Covid-19 some three weeks ago. Once the 500 tests per week target has been
attained, the testing needs to be expanded to include screening of healthcare workers,
UN agency employees, and members of the organised forces. This will ensure that
members of the above institutions that are actively engaged in providing
essential services during the lockdown, do not themselves become the vehicles
of transmission of coronavirus in the community. The realisation of widespread
testing calls for mobilisation of resources for purchasing vital equipment,
expanding lab testing capacity, provision of protective equipment for frontline
health sector workers, and and hiring of additional healthcare staff. </div>
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Lack of equipment and personnel may be partly blamed for the
delays. However, chronic institutional incapacity, challenges in the allocation
of scarce resources, and questions regarding transparency within and between
key stakeholders could be undermining the trust in and effectiveness of the
High Level Taskforce. Moving forward, these hindrances require addressing in
order to remove the bottlenecks. </div>
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Second, there is a need to develop clear guidelines for the management
of positive cases and quarantining regimes and protocols in a way that speaks to
our different scenarios and circumstances. Current quarantining practices
involving compulsory removal of positive cases for isolation away from their
families are creating fear and stigma in the community. Increasingly, people are
getting discouraged to report Covid-19 cases, and many suspected individuals
tend to reject testing for fear of social consequences and fear of mistreatment
in the hands of authorities. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is
becoming more apparent that current procedures are a result of adoption, in ad
hoc manner, of quarantining procedures that are nothing more than mechanical mimicry
of what the developed and highly resourced countries are pursuing, while
stopping short of transparency culture prevalent in those jurisdictions that
are being uncritically emulated. </div>
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Third, preparedness in terms of raising testing capacity, and
capacity to treat critical cases, is on standstill. At best, some preparations
may be taking place behind the scene in an atmosphere bereft of transparency.
This is a point of departure from the western systems that are being copied.
Citizens and stakeholders deserve to be furnished with all facts on how the
country is preparing to fight the pandemic, including highlighting areas of
challenges.</div>
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Finally, coordination and distribution of roles (the role of
High Level Taskforce on Covid-19, technical committees of the Taskforce, the
Ministry of Health, other line ministries involved, NGOs, business community,
academia, and civil society all need to be clearly defined. While
contributions are streaming in cash and in kind, few know how much has been
contributed overall, and whether or not there are gaps in provisions. </div>
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In addition, the High Level Taskforce currently spends much
time approving the daily cargo flights for different organisations, instead of
delegating that role to the relevant public institutions, NGOs, and civil
society. Left unchecked, the work of the Taskforce could unwittingly combine the
roles of the lawmaker, prosecutor, judge, and jury. The role of a government
body such as High Level Taskforce on Covid-19 is to make high level policies
and delegate their implementation to executive agencies within and outside the
government, which is in line with the principle of separation of powers. Furthermore,
social policies requiring empathy and compassion are best outsourced to civil
society, organised interest groups, and non-profit sector for implementation. </div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">To conclude,
the work of High Level Taskforce on Covid-19 could be improved immensely by considering
and removing the bottlenecks enumerated above. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">*Professor John Apuruot Akec is the
Vice Chancellor of the University of Juba, South Sudan; and the Chair of
University of Juba Covid-19 Response Committee</span></i><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">.</span></div>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style>John Akechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13842941624810362672noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25295105.post-26615946994231517312020-04-20T02:17:00.003-07:002020-04-20T02:32:27.759-07:00Lets’ marshal our collective resources to combat COVID-19 pandemic in South Sudan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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By John Apuruot Akec*<br />
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<i>THE SCENES OF STREETS FULL OF DEAD BODIES IS STARK BUT REAL<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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“My heart is in Africa. I am worried. The only reason why the reported cases of coronavirus disease in Africa is low now is most likely because there has not been wide testing of people. The disease is going to bite hard on the continent. I see dead bodies in the street of Africa,” Melinda Gates told CNN’s interviewer two weeks ago. And she is right to be worried.<o:p></o:p></div>
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For once, Mrs. Gates is worried like countless other voices are, because of the well known dire state of health care and social protection systems in most African countries. These weak systems will not easily cope with the pandemic of scale of COVID-19 that has overwhelmed even the health care services of the more technologically advanced and financially resourced countries. And worried we must all be.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">The recent scenes of people having to store the bodies of their loved ones at home for days, before their burial in Ecuador in Latin America, as well as the long queues at the cemeteries due to COVID-19 fatalities, serves as a horrific warning to us all about what might be in store for many countries of Sub-Sahara Africa, if nothing is done to prepare these countries to fend off the pandemic.</span></div>
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And when COVID-19 finally breaks out in Africa, as Mrs. Gates, the World Health Organisation, the UN, and analysts fear is going to materialize in the next few weeks and months, the fatalities from COVID-19 pandemic will be like nothing we have experienced in our lifetime.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>COVID-19: LOOKING BACK TO SIMILAR PANDEMICS IN HISTORY<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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The new SARS-coronavirus-COV2, shortly referred to as COVID-19, was first reported in Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019. By Sunday 19<sup>th</sup> April 2020, it has spread to 208 countries and territories, infecting 2,331,099 and causing the death 160,952 people globally, and still counting.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But the history of pandemics is rife with scary tales and horrible statistics.<br />
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For example, by 2012 HIV/Aid claimed 35 million lives in its 30 years of spread, mostly in Africa. HIV/Aids epidemics was preceded by the Spanish influenza that broke out in the US in 1918, just at the end of the First World War. By 1920, it had infected 500 million individuals and killed 50 million people globally, three times the casualties of the the First World War. Before that, was the Third Plague in 1855 that killed 10 million in India. This was also preceded by Black Death which ravaged the world for 7 years from 1346 to 1353, and killed a staggering 200 million people, equivalent to half of the population of the world which was 400 million at the time. Hence, we have every reason to be scared, but above all, to act in order to reduce fatalities in our country. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>SOUTH SUDAN WILL BE CHALLENGED AT MANY FRONTS<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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Poor infrastructure, weak bureaucracy, and undeveloped health care system in South Sudan will pose multiple threats to lives in the face of impending COVID-19 pandemic. According to credible sources, the number of beds in Juba Teaching Hospital does not exceed 40. That 90 percent of health care in the country is provide by NGOs and private clinics. Many of these private clinics are under resourced in terms of equipment, staffing, and bed capacity.<br />
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Every year, universities graduate over 100 medical doctors, but very few of these graduates are employed by the Ministry of Health due to inadequate budgetary allocation and poor planning. And those few employed by the Ministry of Health are underpaid, and eventually get poached by international NGOs that offer better remuneration. Donor medical assistance to the country is channeled through NGOs because of the perceived incapacity of public heath care system to manage funds and deliver services to donors’ satisfaction. If COVID-19 breaks out, neither the Ministry of Health, nor private clinics, nor NGOs will be equipped enough to manage and treat serious cases that require hospitalisation. The consequences will be catastrophic for the country.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>PREVENTIVE MEASURES AGAINST THE PANDEMIC<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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Following the increasing concern about the threat of pandemic, South Sudan took a series of preventive measures since 23<sup>rd</sup> March 2020, that included: closing the Juba International Airport to international passenger flights, closing of international border crossings to movement of people except cargo. Subsequent circulars followed which included the reduction of official working hours by half, closure of shops with exception of those selling food, medicines, or fuel. As of 14 April 2020, air and land passenger transportation between capital Juba and states, and between states and other states were suspended.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">On the other hand, the University of Juba has formed a COVID-19 Response Committee with the goal of contributing to national response against the pandemic. The Committee made a presentation to the High Level Taskforce on COVID-19 on 7</span><sup>th</sup><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> April 2020 expressing University of Juba position, and making several recommendations to government Taskforce on how the national response to COVID-19 can be improved.</span></div>
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<i>LOCKDOWN POLICIES BE DEFINED BY THE CONTEXT<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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The first recommendation is that lockdown policies need to be informed by South Sudan’s unique socioeconomic conditions, cultural values, and demographic patterns. For example, the fact that 70% of South Sudanese population are below 30 years of age, and that 81% of our citizens live in rural areas can be used to design targeted epidemic control policies. The University of Juba has undertaken a rapid socio-economic impact of COVID-19 study, and will soon share the results with the High Level Taskforce.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>THE COUNTRY MUST GET PREPARED FOR THE OUTBREAK<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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Second recommendation is that social distancing and lockdown policies are mere mechanisms to delay the transmission of COVID-19 in the country and “flatten the epidemic curve.” But these measures are not the only means of combating the pandemic. Inevitably, the rates of infections are going to rise; and if our health care system cannot support large number of the critically ill patients, hundreds and thousands of lives can be lost.<br />
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The University of Juba preliminary position paper urged High Level Taskforce on COVID-19 to mobilise adequate resources as early as possible for tracing, testing, and treating the cases when the outbreak occurs. The report estimates that South Sudan needs at least USD 60 million to prepare for the outbreak. This preparedness budget includes building makeshift emergency hospital facilities with a capacity of 1000 beds, 1000 ventilators, 100 intensive care units, 3000 protective gears for frontline health workers, among others. It also included the cost of hiring 50 medical consultants, 300 mid-level and junior doctors, 500 nurses, 200 lab and support technicians, and 50 staff for managing COVID-19 emergency response centre.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>MOBILISE EVERYONE TO CONTRIBUTE TO COMBATING COVID-19 PANDEMIC<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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Thirdly, that the government needs to mobilise all government ministries, commissions, UN agencies, international and national NGOs, business community, academia, and civil society; and pool the available resources, as well as repurposing all institutional capabilities in order to jointly fight the virus.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Here, the High Level Taskforce is urged to pursue this goal with vision, heightened sense of purpose, transparency, and urgency. Right now, every organisation and institution in South Sudan, including international NGOs, development partners, and UN agencies are pursuing their separate COVID-19 responses. This will lead to duplication of efforts and waste of resources, while achieving nothing significant.<o:p></o:p></div>
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WAY FORWARD - LET US GET STARTED<o:p></o:p></div>
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As Mark Twain once noted, the best way to get ahead is to get started. For COVID-19, a time wasted in inaction means thousands of lives will be needlessly lost. We have seen how in the most resourced countries, government foresight and taking action in a timely manner, contributes immensely to reducing the death toll due to the pandemic. We wish we acted earlier, is a common sigh of regret heard, time and again, coming from key political decision-makers around the globe. We do not want to be on that list.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Thankfully, it has been agreed last week by the High Level Taskforce on COVID-19 to divide Juba into 5 zones, and that in each zone, selected clinics will test patients showing flu-like symptoms for COVID-19. This will allow the country to test up to 500 cases of COVID-19 in one week. This will assure us there are no active COVID-19 cases in the community, or otherwise. Let us then mobilise human resources to implement this plan. Next, let us open a COVID-19 account that will be prudently and transparently managed so that the citizens, businesses, and well wishers can deposit their contributions towards the response in that account. Next, let us ask for medical doctors, nurses, lab technicians, and laypersons from all walks of life, be that in the country or outside the country, to register their interest in joining the fight against COVID-19 pandemic. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">The University of Juba is going to get that organised during this passing week. Next, let us agree on the salary and financial support package for our health workers who will be the foot-soldiers in the war against COVID-19. Furthermore, lets us think about health workers and medical personnel’s protective gear, their mobility, their accommodation, their sustenance, and the equipment they will need to successfully manage the deadly and contagious virus. And equally important, let us think about how we are going to materially support the hundreds of volunteers that we will need to assist us to defeat the epidemic. In other words, thoughtful, targeted, comprehensive, and prompt action will speak louder than words.</span></div>
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<i>*Professor John Apuruot Akec is the Vice Chancellor of the University of Juba, South Sudan; and chairman of University of Juba COVID-19 Response Committee.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
John Akechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13842941624810362672noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25295105.post-11825096551392694272020-04-03T07:31:00.002-07:002020-04-03T07:34:01.059-07:00Expanding Our Nation’s Lab Testing Capacity in the Era of PandemicsBy John A. Akec*<br />
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The Future Begins Now, is the name of an Ohio-based US organisation that offers scholarships to young people. This is an echo of what was attributed to Mahatma Gandhi that: the future begins in the presence. This saying makes great sense and applies to many contexts. The future prosperity of nations and individuals depends on the type and quality of investments they commit their resources to (in form of time and money) at the present. That is why our new motto at the University of Juba is: “inventing the future, transforming society.” The motto is a constant reminder to us that universities worldwide, not just in our country, are there to assist their nations navigate their ways into a safer and prosperous harbors that are still unknown. <o:p></o:p></div>
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With the current Coronavirus pandemic, nations with lab capability are assisting their governments face the challenge posed by covid-19 to their populations. South Korea, for example, is among the countries that has been praised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for its success in reducing community transmission of the virus through massive programme of testing, isolation, and tracking of the suspected cases. Thanks to South Korean past investment in its education system in the 1960s that has prepared their country to face up to the threats of covid-19 virus in 2020. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The Director General of WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus, has urged all countries to test, and treat every case of coronavirus. “No nation can fight coronavirus blind-folded,” he warned. This is one of the worst pandemics in living memory since the outbreak of Spanish flu in 1918. The Spanish flu that followed at the heel of the end of the First World War I (WWI) is reported to had infected 500 million and taking the lives of 50 million people worldwide, three times the number of deaths in the WWI. Hopefully, coronavirus will be contained before it reaches anything like Spanish influenza infection and death rates.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A report that was authored by epidemiologists from Imperial College and London’s School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and published this week, warned that the pandemic could result in death of more than 250,000 people in the UK alone if serious measures are not taken to slow down the spread of coronavirus through the population. Amongst report’s recommendations included isolating people with cough and temperature at home for 14 days, quarantining of all members of families if one member shows the symptoms of the virus, social distancing through reduction of normal social contacts by three-quarters, social isolation of over 70s, and closure of schools and universities. <o:p></o:p></div>
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As we go to press, there are 691,867 confirmed cases and 32,980 recorded deaths worldwide, which works out as 4.6 percent of confirmed cases. This virus is truly catastrophic and has stretched to the breaking point the capacity of even the well resourced of countries.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Bill Gates has warned that the spread of the virus in Africa could be prove devastating. South Sudan is amongst a score of African countries that the WHO has categorised as lacking the capacity to test its population for coronavirus. This is shocking, but not surprising. We as a country had not done much to prepare our health system for minor epidemics, let alone the pandemics of covid-19 scale.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The University of Juba has joined the fight against COVID-19 pandemic by setting up a technical committees of experts and stakeholders on coronavirus that will make recommendations to University of Juba Community (students and staff), and the government Taskforce on COVID-19, based on emerging global understanding of COVID-19 pandemic and the experiences gained elsewhere.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Mark Twain once said: “the secret of getting ahead is to get started.” And while we might not be best prepared as a country for the current coronavirus pandemic, we need not be caught up in the same position of unpreparedness in the future. And that is why we as University are planning to launch a School for Medical Laboratory Sciences in the academic year 2021/2022. We are doing this by partnering with Omdurman Ahlia University in Sudan to develop our curriculum and allow us to learn from their experience through staff and student exchange programme. Equally important, we have stepped up our efforts to expand our academic programmes into public health and nursing and other health allied sciences.<o:p></o:p></div>
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All the above is in line with our strategic goals of expanding quality higher education, transfer of know-how to key strategic sectors, and serving communities. In short, we want to invent the future and transform the society we live in by building our nation’s capacity to deliver quality medical services. So help us, O God.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>*First appeared in Juvarsity, a Monthly News Bulletin of the University of Juba, Published by the Directorate of Planning, Innovation, and Quality Assurance. Vol 2 Issues No. 9, April 2020</i></div>
John Akechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13842941624810362672noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25295105.post-69511300447234679142019-10-29T01:07:00.001-07:002019-10-29T01:07:20.176-07:00When Many Go AhidingBy John A. Akec<br />
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When many go ahiding,</div>
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I am standing</div>
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When many guns go silent</div>
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Mine is firing</div>
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When many wheels are stopping</div>
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Mine is turning</div>
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When many a voice go quiet</div>
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I am roaring</div>
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When many a tree go tumbling</div>
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I am bouncing</div>
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When many wells are drying</div>
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Mine is overflowing</div>
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Who is this?</div>
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You are wondering?</div>
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I am a Southerner</div>
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I am Perseverence</div>
John Akechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13842941624810362672noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25295105.post-87908177759195411032019-10-29T01:02:00.001-07:002019-10-29T02:02:25.215-07:00Using Blogs, Humour, and Annecdotes to Influence Policy<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 15px; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<i style="box-sizing: border-box;"><b style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">By John A. Akec* </b></i></div>
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<i style="box-sizing: border-box;"><b style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">How can research insights be made accessible to broad sectors of society? This column cites examples of successful communicators of scientific knowledge, and highlights the potential role of humor and anecdotes. The author also outlines some of his own experiences, and what works and doesn't work in communicating research in the contexts of Sudan and South Sudan.</b></i></div>
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Most of the time, it would seem, researchers are preaching to the converted – their peers. Their findings have the potential to inform policy and, in turn, have a positive impact on policy outcomes. Yet this doesn’t happen often because most peer-reviewed articles are published in journals whose readerships are largely drawn from the same constituency – namely, the academic and research fraternity.</div>
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The knowledge is thus ‘circulated’ among the like-minded while the consumer – or rather, the policy-maker – is scarcely reached. This is almost always true for research carried out at universities and specialized national research institutes and centers.</div>
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Part of the problem is the inaccessibility of academic research publications for the average non-specialist reader. Most of journal articles are long and can sometimes run into tens of pages of text. They also tend to be heavily loaded with technical jargon, or communicated with high-powered mathematics, possibly to impress peers, but at the expense of the time-starved policy-maker.</div>
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Linking incentives and recognition, such as academic promotion, at universities and research bodies to peer-reviewed publications entrenches this status quo. Yet there are examples of better ways of disseminating scientific knowledge to a wider readership besides peer-reviewed journals.</div>
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These include writing popular science books to disseminate core research findings, opinion pieces in major newspapers, and editing special interest blogs. Here, humor and anecdotes, instead of heavy technical jargon, can be used to communicate important research insights effectively to a very wide audience, including policy-makers.</div>
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For example, the late Stephen Hawking, the former Lucasian Professor of Physics at the University of Cambridge, once noted in the introduction to his classic book, <i style="box-sizing: border-box;">A Brief History of Time,</i> that adding one extra mathematical equation to a book can reduce the potential readership by half. By writing in a way that non-experts can understand, Hawking was able to communicate some of the most difficult concepts in the cosmos, especially in relation to space and time, such as the Big Bang, black holes, dark energy, gravitational waves, and such like.</div>
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Hawking hoped to help a broad spectrum of his readers ‘catch a glimpse of the mind of God’. By leaving his ivory tower and using down-to-earth expressions, he must have persuaded many a cynical politician and chief executives of multinational corporations to increase the budget for ‘blue sky’ research; as well as inspiring young readers to enjoy science and consider studying science-based subjects at university. I even suspect that Hawking’s exposition of cosmological physics and its insights must have had a positive impact on the economic output of many countries by increasing appreciation of science in wider circles.</div>
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Moreover, examples abound in the social sciences of authors who have followed a similar approach to Hawking in making research insights accessible to broad sectors of society. They include Paul Collier, a development economist at the University of Oxford who in his book, <i style="box-sizing: border-box;">The Bottom Billion</i>, popularized the concept of the ‘resource curse’; or the negative impact of high-priced commodities, such as oil and diamonds, on national economies that depend largely on them for revenue. It became a ‘must read’ for both the activist and the keen policy-maker.</div>
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Another example is that of Daron Acemoglu, an economics professor at MIT, and James Robinson of Harvard University, in their book <i style="box-sizing: border-box;">Why Nations Fail</i>. The duo highlighted the importance of the nature of institutions, especially pertaining to economic and political governance as well as the rule of law, in the success or failure of countries around the globe.</div>
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These researchers-turned-authors and countless others, I believe, have accomplished their missions. Yet popularizing research insights through books is not the only way. There are other approaches.</div>
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The first is communicating research insights by writing opinion pieces (‘op-eds’) in media outlets, printed or electronic. This is challenging, especially when it implies restricting an article to just 800 words. I recall a painful, but necessary, experience six years ago of having to cut out important facts from <a href="http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article47198" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #289fcd; outline: none !important; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s;">an article</a> I co-authored with Kathelijne Schenkel of Pax for Peace, which was published in <i style="box-sizing: border-box;">Sudan Tribune</i>.</div>
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The article summarized our research on oil revenue sharing with communities living in the counties of oil-producing states of South Sudan. It raised awareness and sparked enquiries from researchers interested in South Sudan’s oil sector and the role of China in developing it.</div>
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The second is blogging. For a good 13 years, I have written a <a href="https://johnakecsouthsudan.blogspot.com/" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #289fcd; outline: none !important; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s;">blog bearing my name</a>. My articles tackle all sorts of concerns, ranging from socio-economic development, to leadership, to governance, to education, to society and culture, mainly focused on Sudan and South Sudan.</div>
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Some of the articles appear simultaneously on the blog and in Sudanese national newspapers such as <i style="box-sizing: border-box;">The Citizen</i>, <i style="box-sizing: border-box;">Khartoum Monitor</i>, and <i style="box-sizing: border-box;">Juba Monitor</i>; as well as in electronic media outlets such as <i style="box-sizing: border-box;">University World News</i>, <i style="box-sizing: border-box;">Sudan Tribune</i>, Global Observatory, and SciDev.com, among others. Eventually, at the behest of a publisher, a collection of the articles was compiled and published as a book in March 2019 under the title <a href="https://www.dictus-publishing.eu/catalog/details/store/fr/book/978-613-7-34877-2/south-sudan:-the-path-not-taken" style="background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #289fcd; outline: none !important; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s;"><i style="box-sizing: border-box;">South Sudan: The Path Not Taken</i></a>.</div>
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While the title may suggest that the views expressed in the book never received a fair hearing by way of implementation, it is now paradoxically apparent that a lot of the ideas have contributed to policy debates, as some of themes advocated are currently being implemented by the government of South Sudan. These include the adoption of a floating exchange rate in 2015, the establishment of a semi-independent South Sudan Revenue Authority in 2017, and the scrapping of fuel subsidies in June 2018, among others. I also believe that this publication is likely to be influential in shaping the development path of South Sudan for a long time to come.</div>
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From this personal experience, I would like to encourage fellow researchers and academics of all shades to use blogs and social media to communicate their experiences, interests, and insights to national and global audiences that include policy-makers, lay people, special interest groups, and peers.</div>
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They need to write in a lucid style that is filled with humor and anecdotes in order to maintain the interest of readers and help them to understand what can be hard-to-grasp concepts. Links to articles can be shared on Facebook, professional networks such as LinkedIn, mailing lists, and Twitter, to mention just a few of countless possibilities.</div>
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*Was first published on 22 July 2019 at <a href="https://www.globaldev.blog/blog/using-blogs-humor-and-anecdotes-influence-development-policy">https://www.globaldev.blog/blog/using-blogs-humor-and-anecdotes-influence-development-policy</a> </div>
John Akechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13842941624810362672noreply@blogger.com12