MALAKAL — Upper Nile University is preparing to resume diploma teaching at its Human Resource Development College in Malakal, restoring part of its academic presence in Upper Nile more than a decade after the 2013 conflict displaced university operations to Juba.
College director Isaac Deng Akuei told Radio Tamazuj that registration and orientation would begin Monday, 28 September. He said 92 students had been admitted, while lecture halls, staff and textbooks were ready. The university’s official admission notice confirms that results for Malakal diploma applicants have been released.
Seven diploma programmes
The college is offering public administration, computer science, rural development, accounting, business administration, secretarial office management and family science. Akuei said most tuition fees would not exceed approximately SSP 1.5 million. Applicants should verify individual admission status at the Malakal Campus notice board, which the university identifies as the authoritative list.
Accommodation and services remain unfinished
The return is partial. According to Akuei, some university dormitories remain occupied by members of the organised forces. The institution is working with the Upper Nile State government to recover and prepare the buildings. Water and electricity shortages also remain unresolved. Students should not assume that campus accommodation is available.
Akuei said classes were expected in the first week of October. A separate date of 13 October has been attributed to a university social-media notice. South Sudan Press has not reconciled those dates; students should confirm the final timetable with the university before making travel plans.
What this means for Malakal
Locally available diploma courses may lower the cost of studying for young people unable to relocate to Juba and could contribute to skills in administration, computing and rural development. Those are potential benefits; the scale of this restoration will depend on actual enrolment, regular teaching and the resolution of student-service problems.
Outstanding questions include the confirmed first lecture date, the number of available study places, the timetable for vacating dormitories and the source of reliable water and electricity.