JUBA, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural organization (UNESCO) on Tuesday pledged to boost quality of higher education in South Sudan in order to bridge skills gap and create job opportunities for the youth.

Saidou Sireh Jallow, representative of UNESCO in South Sudan, said his organization will build the capacity of the country's tertiary institutions to enable them to produce highly qualified graduates

"The courses and programs that are delivered at different universities in South Sudan are of a high quality, so that the students that come out of these universities could meet the standard,"said Jallow.

He said that a revitalized higher education in South Sudan dovetails with UNESCO mandate of promoting access to skills and expertise required to empower the youth.

Yien Oral Lam Tut, South Sudan's higher education minister, said he had requested UNESCO to support the world's youngest nation to develop a world class higher education, science, and technology policy.

"We are expecting a lot to be done by UNESCO in terms of policy and the strategic plan, including establishing the directorate of Science and technology in this country. All of our higher education institutions are at the establishment stage,"said Lam.