Women students in South Sudan decry unhygienic university accommodation
Hostels belonging to the Juba University are unhygienic and pose a heath threat, students say. With blocked toilets, dirty living spaces and scant power, women complain that the capital’s university is neglecting their few female students.
Monica Santino Majak Dut, who is studying Community Studies and Rural Development, said the hostel environment is very bad, yet the University administration has not reacted to complaints.
We do not feel well here, there are always cases of sickness.”
We do not feel well here, there are always cases of sickness, due to the lack of dumping places for waste,” she said.
Last year the university administration banned students’ from living in the hostels, but Monica said many girls have nowhere else to go, plus it was near to the campus.
Life is very bad, very dirty,” she said, urging the government to do more to protect the students. But I am a student and the university is very near, I prefer to stay”.
Lack of water means that toilets do not work and there is nothing to drink, the students said. However, a jerrycan of water costs one South Sudanese Pound, meaning they lack money to pay for cleaning, cooking and drinking.
Companies collecting the garbage from the neighbourhood do not pass by the hostel, students said. Also, a lack of security guards, means the girls’ hostel now houses many non-students.
South Sudan’s Education Minister John Gai Yoh, October 2.
Power is also in short supply, meaning they cannot read or work at night.
Education Minister John Gai Yoh describes the situation as serious. We feel bad about it. There will be cleaning of the hostel environment and latrines,” Gai said on a recent visit to the hostel, urging students to keep their own hostels clean.
But students did not hold out much hope of change: There is no food, security and water,” Atong Kuol told the Niles. When you see it, you cannot understand how we manage to sleep here -- but we are students, we did it.”
The University of Juba Vice Chancellor and administration declined to comment on the conditions.
