Resilient but Overwhelmed: How do Students in South Sudan Public Universities Cope with the Rising Net Cost?

Abstract

South Sudan is facing the challenges of transition from a liberation movement to democratic state. The protracted political civil war has increased the country’s fragility, dwindling public allocations to education and other sectors. Should education in fragile states wait for the return of peace? The purpose of this study was to interrogate the influence of net cost on out-of-state students’ access in South Sudan public universities. A total of 378 students were selected through random sampling procedure. Six members of the National Council for Higher Education, four university administrators, four parents and two universities were chosen through purposive sampling. The data collection instruments were questionnaires, interview guide, observation and document analysis guide, Descriptive statistics were presented in form of frequencies, percentages and tables. A one-sample t-test was used to establish whether there was a significant difference in the influence of net cost on students’ decision to access and attend South Sudan public universities between in-state and out-of-state students. Qualitative data was collected and analyzed simultaneously, coded, categorized into themes. The results indicate that although public universities have demonstrated resilience, they are overwhelmed and struggling to provide quality education services to all citizens. Students’ net cost was growing faster than their family income due to the rise in inflation adversely affecting out-ofstate students from low-income families’ access to public universities compared to in-state students. The study recommends that the government fast-track peace and re-engineer its education system to make it more accessible, affordable and equitable to all, particularly those from the marginalized groups. It hopes to contribute to improving policy and practice in educational administration and planning.