IU lends help to education in South Sudan

IU has been awarded a $4.2 million grant by the U.S. Agency for International Development through Higher Education for Development to promote women’s access to higher education in South Sudan. 

The project is headed by Terry Mason, a professor of curriculum and instruction in the IU School of Education. The project is also partnered with Virginia Tech and two South Sudanese institutions to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women, according to a press release from April 16. 

“It will provide funds to support curriculum development and educational materials for two universities in South Sudan, the University of Juba and the University of the Upper Nile,” Mason said.

The program will place emphasis on providing opportunities for women to become prepared to teach at the university level and for girls to finish high school and be eligible to study at the university, Mason said. Also, there will be master’s degrees offered and improvement of administrative systems and educational policies.
 
The project is in its beginning phases. 

“The project is just now starting so it has only been a couple of months,” Mason said. “We currently have a team on the ground in South Sudan collecting baseline data for the project so we will know what the starting point is for our efforts and how to plan
accordingly.”

According to the press release, the grant was provided by USAID, the federal government’s major agency for distributing economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide. Also involved is Higher Education for Development, which works to promote higher education engagement in social and economic development.

Mason got involved when HED made the announcement about the project. 

“I began working with others here at IU and at Virginia Tech to write a proposal for the project,” he said. “The goals of the project are similar to those of other projects that I have worked on in countries like Afghanistan and Macedonia, so I thought we could be very productive on this one.”

Mason isn’t the only one working on the project at IU. 

“Some graduate students from the IU School of Education will participate in the project,” Mason said. “Assisting with curriculum and materials development and conducting research with educators in South Sudan.”

Mason said there will be more opportunities for students to get involved with the project as it moves along, even if they’re not graduate students.  

“I would like to see students on this campus get involved in helping South Sudan develop as a new democratic nation that will play a key role in the future of Africa,” Mason said. “As we move ahead we will be looking for those opportunities and will share them with the IU community as they arise.”