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WHEN BUSINESS IS NOT ON YOUR SIDE: The Case of Star International University

EARLY WARNING MESSAGE. Ezekiel 33

When business is not your partner, you will not succeed even if you have a hundred windows of grace periods to try. Star International University (SIU) is no exception. Earlier in June, I wrote an article discouraging the establishment of its Magwi campus for many reasons. Some ill-fated beneficiaries cried foul. The truth is, despite being one of the registered universities, SIU is a malfunctioning institution that is undergoing intensive care treatment. Hence, any such business should not attract loan interest, so students should not join SIU. Be wise.

The collapse of the Nimule Campus is living testimony that SIU is trying educational businesses. I was among the first cohort to attempt joining the SIU Nimule Campus four years ago. I understood the struggles the university was going through right from its establishment. Recall that the university started as Busoga University in Uganda and underwent several transitions due to low-profile qualifications. Today, as I write this article, the SIU Nimule Campus is dead. Last week, I visited the campus at St. Francis of Assisi to ascertain this fact and found that it is true. It is on this basis that students should reconsider joining the Magwi Campus. If the university could not sustain the Nimule Campus, which exists in the same county, what would be different about the Magwi Campus?

Rapid Expansion Without Sustainability. As noted, SIU would have had four campuses in Eastern Equatoria within three years if the Nimule Campus had existed today. This raises a serious question about its viability: How can a business expand faster than its upward growth? The rapid expansion of SIU should not deceive students into joining its campuses but should encourage critical analysis of the varsity. Questions such as these should be asked: Will we have quality and consistent learning at the campus? Why did the Nimule Campus collapse so soon?

When business is not on your side, it tempts your intuition to masquerade as an expansionist and developer. Star International University is a gambler that wants to enrich its main campus with innocent villagers' money. Instead of developing and maintaining its Juba Campus, it swiftly crosses educational borders inconsistently and acts as an educational camouflage for villagers. Magwi County students should reconsider joining the campus or, if for any reason they choose SIU, they should instead join the main campus in Juba.

END

Sir Abunerry Blogcast

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