Juba University; a lesson for UoN

By Caleb Mutua

Now that Kenya’s main stream media is tearing South Sudan apart following the just concluded declaration of South Sudan as an independent country, I saw a clip of Juba University and wondered what bedevils UoN students sometimes.

Juba students should be respected for their determination to pursue their degrees despite the poor conditions of their campus in many years of political instability; the same determination that has seen UoN remain the top public university in Kenya.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to compare The University of Nairobi and Juba University. South Sudan is a new nation and it will take them years before their campus becomes a state-of-the-art institution like UoN.

But seriously folks, I find it very ironic that students in Juba have so many stones to break glasses with but their windowpanes are mere frames while UoN has few stones in its vicinity but they throw a lot of stones.

I’m still disturbed with our behaviour, not only as students at a higher learning institution but also as law abiding citizens. Juba University students are a good example of students who make do of what little they have instead of destroying it.

First published in July 2011.