Juba, South Sudan
March 17, 2022 — The Dean’s Board of the University of Juba has postponed the planned strike for one more week hoping to meet with president Salva Kiir to address the issues.
Last week, the administration of the University gave a seven-day ultimatum to the government to either pay their six-month salary arrears or failure to do so would lead to closure of the institution.
As seven days elapse, the administration says that after a meeting on Monday, they had resolved to further postpone the strike for another week due to ongoing mediation efforts.
In a statement seen by Nyamilepedia, Bek Dhuorjang Chol, the Executive Director in the Office of the Vice-Chancellor said the picked day has been rescheduled following their meeting on Monday in which they had agreed to meet the Head of State first.
“We had an extraordinary Dean’s Board meeting No.4 on the 14th of March 2022 as it was previously agreed, and it was about updates on the progress on our demands. Two, issues arise, a request to have a meeting with the president is scheduled for tomorrow (Wednesday), and all the Vice-Chancellors, ministers of general education and higher education will be meeting the president.”, Chol said in a statement obtained by Nyamilepedia.
He added that some individuals of goodwill are mediating between the institution and the Ministry of Finance to clear the arrears and agree on payment modalities.
Chol confirmed that the University has not yet received any money from the Ministry of Finance until now.
“Therefore, because of these two, and the efforts of the individuals mediating and the request by His Excellency the president to have a meeting with him is what the Dean’s Board have seen as genuine and then they have extended the suspension of lectures until Monday, 21st of this month. And that is what has prompted the meeting with the president tomorrow because the president wants to intervene to help solve the problem,” he emphasized.
Last week, the dean’s board called on the Ministry of Finance to ensure immediate payment of the six-month salary arrears by 14th March 2022 urging the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance to speedily review and implement the adjusted salary structure. He called on the university staff to lay down their tools if the demands are not met.
The University of Juba is the largest public university in South Sudan with over 29,000 students.
