By William Madouk
President Salva Kiir on Friday sacked the Vice-Chancellor (VC) for the University of Juba, Prof. John Akec Apuruot and appointed Prof. Robert Mayom Kuoirot the former deputy VC for admin and finance as his replacement.
In a whirlwind presidential decree effecting changes in Public varsities, Mr. Apuruot – was shown the exit door plus his counterpart from Bahr el Ghazal, Prof. Victor Laku who was replaced by Prof. Erneo Bernardo Ochi.
Meanwhile, Prof. Mamur Chol Turuk was appointed the vice chancellor of the University of Upper Nile to replace the late Professor Marial Awow Yuol.
Again, Prof. Joshua Otor was named as vice chancellor for the University of Rumbek replacing Professor Deng Manase Mach.
Professor Abraham Matoch retained his position as vice chancellor for Dr. John Garang Memorial University of Science and Technology.
Who is Prof. Robert Mayom Kuoirot
According to information obtained by the No.1 Citizen Newspaper Prof. Kuoirot was a senior lecturer at the prestigious University of Khartoum in the 1970s.
Mr. Kuoirot, who hailed from Bor in Jonglei state got his Ph.D. from Durham University in the UK in 1980. He was the first South Sudanese to be conferred a Ph.D. in an Inorganic Chemistry.
The new vice chancellor for UoJ was also the first South Sudanese to be a senior lecturer at Kenyatta University (KU) in 1986, Kenya. He also lectured at the Ivy League University of Melbourne in Australia in the early 1990s.
Meanwhile, former VC Prof. John Akec congratulated and wished the new VC success with his team.
“I would also like to congratulate the new Vice-Chancellor and his able team and wish them every success,” he noted.
“Life is too short to spend in one position. It is the right time to move on, and allow other colleagues with fresh ideas to take our University to the next level.”
He said it was an honour for him to serve as the Vice Chancellor of the University of Juba for ten years.
Akec added “Like anything else, good things have endings. I would like to thank the Chancellor for trust and support over the last decade.”