Dr. Peter Adwok Nyaba should be clear enough to the striking lecturers
5 min readBy Kon Joseph Leek, Juba, South Sudan
June 27, 2016 (SSB) — Adwok Nyaba is the current minister of higher education. It is one month now since all the five public universities’ lecturers started their sit-down strike in demand of their [three month’s salaries] and some additional incentives or allowances [travel and medical allowances]
A week after the strike began, Adwok caught the bull by its horn by writing a letter to the chair of strikers to resume their work and wondered why they [strikers] would not understand the economic state of this country, he then directed the vice chancellor of the university of Juba to take immediate actions if they don’t end their unnecessary strike. It was a stern warning to the strikers whom he termed to be unpatriotic for their failure to understand the situation the government is.
That letter started the bad blood between Adwok [the minister] and Akech [the vice chancellor of Jamah’Juba] on one side and the strikers on the other side. It was quiet baffling how the chancellor from one university of the five public universities would take action[s] against striking lecturers of all the public universities according to Hon. Minister’s words!
When the minister was asked on the afternoon show with Rosemary on Eye Radio fm by Rosemary [the presenter of the program] to justify his point for it sounded a little equivocal about what he meant by “directing the VC of Jamah’Juba to take actions”, he became clear that “he should dismiss or suspend them and replace them with new ones”.
In Nyaba’s perception, I think it is only outside this planet that he can get the people to employ while not being paid salaries! He seems to have forgotten that the lecturers went on strike because they wanted their money not in rejection of it [salaries]!
That letter made the strikers reached a challenging resolution that could have made the minister and the VC to fasten Mr. Minister’s order of dismissal or suspension of strikers if he really meant it. They concluded that, instead the minister and that VC should resign if the VC does not stop meddling in strikers’ affairs and if the minister does not stop threatening them – the show-down continued, strikers are still striking and the duos [the minister and the VC] are still in fierce defense.
Two weeks ago, a dispatch was made on the media by the minister himself [Adwok] that the president had called him [Adwok], minister of finance Hon. Deng Athor’bei and presidential adviser on Education, marvelous Hon. Dr. Gai Yoah to deliberate on the issue of the striking lecturers which Adwok stated that the president had called upon the strikers to be a little patient and resume their lecturing and their demands will be put into consideration
Two weeks have gone now and there is no sign of lecturers stopping their strike, when I asked some of them [lecturers] for failing to lecture despite president’s conclusion with the two ministers and his adviser, they simply responded that they heard of it in the media just like somebody else and no legal approach or formal letter is written to them regarding the meeting of the [four] and they are still waiting.
Adwok has not come back to them again or wrote to their committee about what is reached and instead went to the media and talked when he is not supposed to meet them on the media, he knows them or their heads and the Doctor knows how to talk face-to-face or how to write a letter and has not done any till now!
It is his role as the minister to see the universities work, it is a month now and the universities are not working neither are they in holidays and the man-Adwok doesn’t seem to care, and he still call himself a minister of Universities and colleges attending council of ministers every Friday! What does he really tell them that he is doing?
When asked in the same interview by Rosemary about the fate of students if the strike continues, he simply responded that, ‘I don’t know’. He wanted the lecturers removed for striking; students are not studying or would not be in class if the lecturers were removed and Hon. Minister said that he did not know what the fate of the students would be? Meaning that he still doesn’t know their fate!
If the doctor who happened to be the minister of higher Education does not know the students’ fate, then this is what they are going through
Many of them have finished their lectures and are only waiting for their exams that they could have finished two weeks ago if you really cared!
Students of post-graduate studies have been abruptly stopped to continue with their studies because of the same issue and they could have finished or have been in exams now if you cared!
Post-graduate applications have been delayed because of the same reason when the applicants could have long been busy studying now if you truly cared!
Most of the students including myself are not government sponsored but private sponsored and now caught in the quagmire of the ministry headed by you, they are messed up like if they were sponsored by the government when they are not, and you don’t seemed to care!
Since your appointment, the public universities are not operationally comfortable just like your 2011’s appointment. Why does your administration start with chaos all the time Hon. Minister? What is wrong? Is it that your administration is sunken by lack of care or is it something else?
Please be mindful of the students and drop that egocentric show-down between you and the lecturers!
The writer is a commentator on contemporary issues, he is reachable on j.konleek@gmail.com
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