March 7, 2013 (JUBA) - South Sudanese students in Egypt have appealed to the government in Juba to intervene and rescue them from a dire financial situation which has affected their studies in the Arab Republic of Egypt.

South Sudanese General Student Union leaders in Egypt presenting of trophy gift to the Vice President, Riek Machar, Juba, on 7 March 2013 (ST)

There are over 390 South Sudanese students studying in various Egyptian universities under scholarships offered to them by the Egyptian government, through the ministry of higher education, as part of the bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

The scholarships, while providing free classes for the students, have however fallen short of some of the other ingredients required by the students in order to successfully complete their studies, according to their representatives.

A delegation from the South Sudanese General Student Union in Egypt led by the Union’s chairman, Joseph Diardit, while in Juba alerted the minister of higher education about the prevailing situation, enumerated the challenges they have been facing.

During a separate meeting with the vice president, Riek Machar, Thursday, they doubled their appeal in a bid for a quick response from the leadership. In a statement to the press the chairman of the Students Union, Joseph Diardit, lamented that the Egyptian government had stopped providing text books and accommodation for the students.

In addition, he also complained about lack of provision for medical treatment and equally appealed to the government to provide air tickets to 35 of their colleagues who had already graduated but were stranded in Egypt due to lack of transport to bring them back home.

The students also believed that lack of a cultural attaché to the South Sudanese embassy in Cairo had made it difficult to resolve some of their problems, asking the government to assign one to the embassy to deal with the students’ affairs in the host country.

He said his delegation came to Juba to present the challenges with the hope that the government would intervene and fill the gap.

Sounding optimistic, Diardit said the vice-president had assured of consultation with the minister of higher education, Peter Adwok Nyaba, and that the council of ministers would soon look into the complaints.

(ST)