University of Juba graduates a very low percentage of female students in comparison to their male counterparts

The University of Juba graduates a tiny percentage of females compared to their male counterparts. Among newly graduated students, 82.69% are male and 17.31% are female.

This is called for an increase in advocacy for women and girls to be encouraged and supported to have access to education in the country. South Sudanese government needs to restructure its education sector in order to increase the participation of the woman in the sector.

Despite some growth in this area, education remains inaccessible for women and girls due to the nation’s dedication to maintaining traditional gender roles. This has grossly affected girls’ livelihood, quality of life, and educational opportunities.

Many of those graduating are from the school of social sciences and most are males. There are also a few graduating from the school of medicine and Ph.D. students with the males dominating in numbers, though some schools like engineering and applied sciences have no grandaunts, according to the Vice-chancellor of the University.

South Sudan has some of the lowest educational indicators in the world. Women’s and girls’ education indicators are particularly poor. Only 16 percent of the female population over 15 is literate, compared to 40 percent for males.

It is important that policymakers and the government ensure national policies mainstream the importance of girls’ education and gender equity.

The COVID-19 has affected many institutions, this is the first graduation of the public university since the country was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic in March last year.