South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Awan Achiek
The Egyptian government has removed age restrictions on South Sudanese who seek to qualify for study scholarships in the country.
The Egyptian government recently introduced age limit of 19-years for any South Sudanese student admitted for under-graduate and post-graduate studies in Egyptian Universities.
It also introduced a fee of $100 for registration to be paid by foreign students studying under government scholarships in higher institutions of learning.
Dr. James Pitia Morgan, minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation said the two countries have agreed to remove the age requirement for South Sudanese students.
“As a result of his (President Salva Kiir’s) visit the problem of South Sudanese students was resolved by the two leaders, and now South Sudanese students are exempted from this policy and this is very important for us,” Morgan said during press conference held in Juba on Monday.
He disclosed that the agreement was reached during a recent meeting between President Salva Kiir and his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Cairo.
“We are going to receive this scholarship and for us to benefit from this scholarship, of course, the President of the Republic decided that it was better for him to travel to Egypt and discuss this with his counterpart,” Morgan said.
“I think that this was a very important step taken by H.E President of the Republic to go personally and of course to change the policy of another country is not easy, it needs top leadership to decide on it,” he added.
Egypt and South Sudan recently signed a protocol that will allow the two nations to exchange students, professors and ideas.
Every year, the Egyptian Ministry of Higher Education offers 400 scholarships to South Sudanese students, effectively paying for their college education in Egypt.
But 100 of those scholarships are reserved for those who are pursuing their post-graduate education.
Under the terms of the protocol, the two countries agreed to send more Egyptian professors to teach in English at South Sudanese universities, have them take part in joint research ventures, and share more equipment to further enable that research.
