South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Awan Achiek
The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia has announced a substantial increase in scholarships for South Sudanese students for the 2024-2025 academic year, raising the total from 150 to 645.
This agreement was reached during a meeting on Thursday in Juba between Nebil Mahdi, the Ethiopian Ambassador to South Sudan, and Madut Bair Yel, the Minister of Higher Education.
Ethiopia has previously provided 150 scholarships for both postgraduate and undergraduate students, as well as for Technical Education and Vocational Training (TVET).
On November 22, Ethiopia increased the number of scholarships for South Sudanese students from 100 to 150.
Nebil Mahdi Abdullahi, the Ethiopian Ambassador to South Sudan, expressed his commitment to implementing the new agreement regarding scholarships for South Sudanese students.
“This academic year, Ethiopia will grant scholarships to 645 South Sudanese students across various sectors, including undergraduate, postgraduate, and medical studies,” Mahdi told SSBC on Thursday.
“I reiterate my commitment to continue this engagement and facilitate the scholarship program across different sectors.”
Mahdi also mentioned that Ethiopia is advocating for free student visas for South Sudanese students to ease their studies abroad.
“We are working to facilitate student visas to make them free, in accordance with Ethiopian immigration laws, so that this issue does not remain a concern in the future.”
Madut Biar Yel, the Minister of Higher Education, stated that delays in examination results have disrupted the smooth operation of scholarship programs.
“I will meet with the vice-chancellors of various universities in South Sudan to discuss the issues causing delays in exam grading so that we can improve our situation,” said Biar.
He pledged to address the delay in exam results to enable students to apply for scholarships on time.
“Delays in exam grading affect our students, especially when it comes to scholarships. We need to fulfill our responsibilities as the ministry to ensure everything is completed on time.”
