The government has teamed up with partners to reopen a vocational training center in Malakal, Upper Nile University, to facilitate the return of students to the area.

Since the outbreak of the December 2013 conflict, the facility has been operating from Juba. According to the officials, the launch would enable students, educators, and vocational trainees to prepare for the successful return to Malakal, Upper Nile State.

In a statement seen by The City Review, the Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology Gabriel Changson Chang commended the effort of the Japanese government and UNDP for offering the resources to maintain buildings and carrying out the renovations.

He said renovation and launching of the new learning center at University Campus would help the relocation of the university back soon.

“With this facility, we want to relocate Upper Nile University as soon as possible to Malakal,” Minister Chang stressed during the launch.

On his part, Upper Nile State Governor Abuthok Anyang said the presence of a university in the area would mean that tranquillity and stability return.

He said it will ‘‘make everyone feel safe and know that things are better’’ adding that ‘‘people will be able to go back to Upper Nile to start their lives normal’’.

Governor Anyang stressed the need to have enough manpower in the state so that they can move well in terms of development.

“Manpower is needed in Upper Nile, we need expertise, we need technical know-how, academia, people who can make things and those who can make things move,” Governor Anyang said.

On the same occasion, Mr. Naohiro Tsutsumi, the Japanese Ambassador to South Sudan, said the completion of the project will be a significant step for ensuring access to higher education.

“Education is the fundamental basis of nation-building and economic growth; I wish the renovated Upper Nile University will be central to the socio-economic prosperity of the Upper Nile region,” Japanese Ambassador Tsutsumi said.

Dr. Samuel G. Doe, UNDP Resident Representative, said that since the renovation work was launched in June 2019, it had employed at least 460 persons for total employment of 39,125 workdays.

“Even during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, this project sustained the people and contributed immensely to the revitalization of the local economy,” he cited.

According to Dr. Doe, the operation of Upper Nile University is expected to branch further economic recovery of the state, and Malakal town in particular.

“Given that the influx of thousands of new students, and faculty which will bring with it increased demand for goods and services, we also hope that the diversity in the student population who will be learning in this higher-level institution will bring with its tolerance, peace, and solidarity,” Dr. Doe continued.

The national Minister of Labour James Hoth Mai said the presence of good education in the area will reduce conflict and improve livelihoods.

“Education is key to success, prosperity, and development. An educated population is a healthy population, the contribution rendered by the Japanese people has played and will continue to play a major role in sustaining peace and stability among the people of South Sudan; and in particular the people of Central Upper Nile State,” said Mai.

He said the VTC facility will develop the skills of youth in at least three trades—carpentry, electrical, and masonry—that are crucial in supporting the economic recovery and development of the state.

Malakal Vocational Training Centre, designed to contribute to recovery and build a skilled workforce in Central Upper Nile State.

The reconstruction consists of 29 buildings including lecture halls, administration buildings, teachers and student accommodation, laboratories, a library, clinic, cafeteria, and more.

The initiative paves the path for 2,000 students displaced and studying in a temporary facility in Juba to return to the main Upper Nile University campus in Malakal, and to learn in a secure environment conducive to learning. Reconstruction works on Upper Nile University launched in June 2019.