South Sudan is set to have its newest private university. Kuda University will operate several schools in various towns of Central Equatoria State.

The new university is meant to fulfill some of the goals of Central Equatoria’s Vision 2040 plan for development.

The institution of higher learning currently has two buildings in Juba located west of the KCB Bank’s Buluk branch, with plans to lay the foundations for a headquarters at Kuda 35 kilometers west of Juba along the Maridi road, according to acting vice chancellor Professor Scopas Dima.

Dima said Kuda University hopes to expand to offer different programs for students.

"We are going to establish three other schools namely the school of agriculture, the school of medicine and teaching hospital, the school of engineering under which will be architecture, survey, and vocational institution,” he said.

The school of agriculture would have branches in Yei and Terekeka.

Kuda also hopes to offer management classes. The university signed a memorandum of understanding with the Management University of Africa (Nairobi branch) to help support the new institution and to see that the Kenyan university's programs are offered at Kuda.

"The school of management is going to cost us between five million and seven million [dollars] to set up,” Dima said at the signing ceremony. "The school of agriculture is much more than that, the school of medicine and teaching hospital will be about six hundred million dollars."

Dima said there is strong feeling among partners to support private sector to improve conditions of South Sudanese owing to the fact that government efforts to improve the country have failed.

Dr Nicholas Letting, vice chancellor of the Management University of Africa's Nairobi branch said the best lecturers from MUA would be seconded to support Kuda.

He said admissions will begin the third week of March and classes are expected to start in May of this year.

Clement Wani Konga, the former governor of Central Equatoria State, is the chairman of the Kuda University council.

"With the presence of Kuda University, Kuda University will be able to give us services and education," Konga said.

"We developed the Vision 2040 as Central Equatoria but with the decentralization, Central Equatoria is decentralized into three states...still this does not mean that the Vision 2040 is not going to materialize and this is shown by Kuda University."

Separately, Konga said different communities in Central Equatoria have been given timber, rice, vegetables, and poultry in order to set up cooperatives.

File photo: University students in South Sudan