President Salva Kiir - File Photo courtesy of Office of the President

President Salva Kiir has established two new public universities and renamed the University of Northern Bahr el Ghazal to the University of Aweil.

The changes were announced in a presidential decree broadcast on the state-owned South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation on Friday evening.

The decree upgrades Kuajok Community College to the University of Kuajok, granting it full public university status, and establishes the University of Yei in Yei River County, Central Equatoria State.

It also changes the name of the University of Northern Bahr el Ghazal to the University of Aweil.

President Kiir directed the Higher Education Council and the Transitional National Legislative Assembly to fast-track the legal and administrative processes needed to operationalize the institutions, including accreditation, governance structures, staffing, and other requirements.
The government says the move is aimed at expanding access to higher education in the country.

The newly established universities bring the number of public universities in South Sudan to eight: the University of Juba, Rumbek University of Science and Technology, Dr. John Garang Memorial University of Science and Technology, the University of Bahr el Ghazal, Upper Nile University, the University of Yei, the University of Kuajok, and the University of Aweil.