The Ministry of Education has ordered the closure of many private institutions of higher learning in the country.

It says it only recognizes two institutions, and the rest are illegal.

They include Saint Mary’s College and Catholic University, which is affiliated to Catholic University of East Africa.

“If you apply there we don’t have any problem. Catholic University is affiliated to Catholic University of East Africa and the affiliation of that institution has been approved ministry of higher education,” said Dr. Benjamin Gabriel Apai, the Director General for Training in the Department of Higher Education, adding that the police have been asked to enforce the closure.

“So don’t go to an institution and they tell you that they are affiliated, but the affiliation in not approved by the ministry,” he said. “There is ministerial order closing them.”

Mr Apai says certificates from these closed institutions will not be recognized.

Some listeners of Eye Radios have questioned why the ministry took time to act despite being aware of the existence of these illegal institutions.

“How did such people enter the country and they operate while the ministry of higher education is there? Second to that, is this country where people just do things as they like and there is no a proper way people are welcoming. How did such thing operate? By now   the student who are affected are there people,” wondered David Magok, a resident of Wau.

A former student Cavendish University in Juba, only known as Edwin urge the ministry of Education to take the initiative to communicate the fate of the students affected by the mass-closure of the institutions.

“I am also one of the students being affected by this problem. They should send authorities from the ministry of higher education to go and talk to the students in those universities,” he said.

In 2012, 20 private universities and colleges were shut down for not meeting required standards set by the ministry, including proper laboratories, stocked libraries and qualified lectures.