Why Juba University Lecturers and Supporting Staffs are Threatening Closure for Academic Year 2022-2023
President Kiir at the 18th graduation ceremony of the university of Juba, April 2015
By Ustaz Morris Mabior Awikjok, Nairobi, Kenya
Wednesday, March 09, 2022 (PW) — They lecturers and supporting staffs of various public Universities across the country have expressed frustration over delayed of unpaid salaries, saying it’s hurting their livelihood and affecting their ability to teach. The meeting decried the attitude of the National Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning in delaying unpaid salaries for the lectures.
The meeting which was held earlier today in the University Main Campus Hall threatened closure of the University for academic (2022-2023) calendar as well as other four public Universities across the country until their issue for wages payment is resolve amicably.
However, they lecturers and supporting staffs have expressed their concerns through a peaceful demonstration in the Main Campus and established that the delays in paying both teaching and non-teaching staff are common among public Universities and other higher learning institutions.
On Monday, the Vice Chancellor Professor John Apurot Akech was denied entrance and denied access to meet with the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning at the Main gate by the police security in the Ministry. The eye-witnessed who don’t want to be named for security reasons disclosed this information to me earlier today.
For instance, University of Juba and other public Universities lecturers and supporting staffs last received their salaries in August last year 2021. The little wages and monthly payment they are receiving is not paid in time regularly in accordance with the public service rules and regulations.
The salaries and wages pay to the teaching and non-teaching staff does not meet their families’ basic needs like food, rents, health related issues and school fees for their children. They teachers, Army and MPs of South Sudan are the only less pay workforce in the East African community and in the whole world.
As for the Upper Nile, John Garang Memorial, University of Rumbek, and University of Bahr El Ghazal will follow suit as they are facing the same challenges, which are operating for many months without salaries. Some lecturers said they have spent almost eight (8) months without pay.
Some University workers said they were contemplating quitting the work in the Campus but fear they might struggle to get jobs elsewhere but the situation in country is the same. There are no decent jobs in this except those working in the presidency, Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, JIA, DNPI, Custom Services, and NRA. These are the only institutions benefiting in South Sudan.
“I have not been paid for the last eight months and have no hope of receiving payment soon as the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity under the leadership of Gen. Salva Kiir Mayardit has kept a deaf ear to our queries,” said one lecturer on phone after their meeting earlier today in Juba.
The University administration and management owes the National Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (8) months’ salary arrears, he said. “We need to pay for rent, buy food and other basic needs such as transport, but this is hard for us because our salary delays,” the only option is to close the University until we are fully paid, he stressed on phone.
“We can’t teach properly as we are not motivated, life is hard and the quality of education is being affected as well,” another lecturer in the University of Juba, formerly known as “man of hard work”, said, disclosing that he was last paid in August last year and loose hope that they will not get paid again.
He disclosed that the University deployed a tactic of facilitating lecturers with transport allowance so they can continue teaching but we doubted whether the University will afford such huge responsibility without the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning cooperation with the University.
Everyone should get the sum of 10,000 SSP every week as transport allowance for teaching staff and 5,000 SSP for non-teaching staff, he said. “Some use the money to buy little food and come to work daily a week hoping that things will gradually change but nothing has changed. This affects the quality of education,” he adds. The lecturers are chanting with the slogans today holding flip charts written,” pay our wages now.
Their challenges, he added, are worsened by the fact that University workers don’t belong to any trade union that can lobby for them because the National Workers Trade Union Federation is not active their legal legitimacy has elapsed in 2015 and no restructuring and reorganization which has been carried out since that time.
The ministry of Education, Science and Technology does not intervene in such matters only to help and present our issues in the Council of Ministers meeting,” said a lecturer who don’t want to disclose his name.
In their flip charts wording seen by the author, the lecturers urge His Excellency, President Gen. Salva Kiir Mayardit urgent intervention to solve their pressing issues by approving their salaries and arrears which carried on for many months without being paid.
The Annual budget of the line Ministries require to be separated and remittance directly to the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology Account or Public Universities independent accounts.
The writer is a political Activist on good governance, rule of law and equity for all currently based in Juba, South Sudan. You can reach him by email: morrisawikjok@yahoo.com or WhatsApp me on +211928663444.
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