S. Sudanese students in Egypt plea for govt help amid COVID-19 lockdown
Photo: South Sudanese students in Egypt attending a ceremony | Credit | Facebook
April 12, 2020 (SSNN) — South Sudanese students studying on private admission in Egypt are pleading to their government back home to reconsider its decision which they said was favoring those on government scholarship and add them to the coronavirus funds provided by the government.
Last month, the coronavirus taskforce allocated $3 million to South Sudanese students studying on government scholarship in different countries around the world. The decision was received with criticism by several students studying at their private expense as “unfair.”
However, not all those money has been released. The minister of higher education, Denay Jock Chagor, said over the weekend that the ministry of finance released $1million that would be distributed to over 2600 students around the world studying on government scholarship with each taking $250.
Speaking to South Sudan News Now on Saturday, several students in Egypt said the government decision is unfair and that reconsideration should be made because all have been affected by the global lockdown imposed by the coronavirus.
“The decision made by the government [ High Level Taskforce Committee] via Minister of Higher Education is unfair, because this COVID-19 outbreak have jeopardize all livelihoods across the globe,” Chienglel Nyuon, chairperson of Unity state students body in Egypt said Saturday.
“All private Students whose parents depend on local businesses to supports them are no more doings anything due to this lockdown,” he added.
He said the government decision to exclude them from the government funds means the government doesn’t care for their wellbeing urging the government of South Sudan to reconsider the decision and assist all studying abroad.
Ketket Koang Mut, a science student at Cairo University said he regrets the government decision saying all – including those studying on their own – have been forced to quarantine by the global lockdown imposed by the pandemic.
“The government decision is unfair because the private students have also been quarantined as it is the case for those studying on government scholarship. We didn’t to depend on government funds but we have been forced by the pandemic to call for help,” he added.
He urged the government of South Sudan to not favor some of the students as the pandemic doesn’t pointing to the role all of them will play once they return to their country.
“My message to the government of South Sudan is that they should pay all the students in this uncontrollable virus that has forced lockdown throughout the whole World. The Coronavirus (or COVID-19) pandemic does not segregate between the private students and those studying under government scholarships,” he said.
“All of us are the future of South Sudan. Those studying under government scholarship and we those studying at our own expense will all return to our country and play the role of building our country together. There is need that all of us are treated fairly by our government,” he added.
Gattiek Gatkuoth Wichar, a South Sudanese student of law at Ain Shams University also said the government decision was unfair because none of the students do not go to work at the moment because of the crisis imposed by the virus saying all means of survival have been disrupted as results of the outbreak.
“Of course the government decision is unfair particularly at this particular time of COVID-19 pandemic. Since the whole world is in lockdown, everyone is in quarantine and none is working to like before. Their relatives are also not working back home and in diaspora. They don’t have anything in their hands,” he said.
“This is definitely an abuse to their [students] constitutional rights which is enshrined in article 31 of Transitional Constitution of the Republic of South Sudan 2011 (as amended in 2015) which clearly states that any government institution in South Sudan has an obligation to provide all services necessary to South Sudanese citizen in need such as services like healthcare facilities, clean water, education, infrastructural development and so forth,” he added.
He further urged the government “specially the ministry of higher education to revise its decision of releasing funds for some students and leaving others with nothing at this critical situation of deadly virus.”
“The coronavirus doesn’t care whether you’re private student or a student studying under the government scholarships it can infect everyone without discrimination as long as you come into contact with someone infected by the virus and besides this they are all South Sudanese Students who shares the same rights.”
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