By Bosco Bush
President Salva Kiir Mayardit is set to meet with Vice Chancellors of public universities to address ongoing salary delays.
The move comes as several universities have been in protests over unpaid salaries, impacting academic activities and student learning.
During a meeting yesterday, between President Salva Kiir and the Vice President in charge of Service Delivery, Hussein Abdelbagi, Kiir had promised to meet the Vice Chancellors.
Vice President Abdelbagi delivered a “comprehensive report” of his docket to the President on Monday, November 4.
According to the office of the President, the report entails key issues hindering the country’s service cluster docket, particularly education and health – prompting the head of State plans to have a meeting and discuss with the public universities’ Vice Chancellors the way forward regarding their salaries issue.
“The Vice President further revealed that President Kiir would in the near future convene a crucial meeting with the Universities Vice Chancellors to discuss and resolve the pressing issues of teachers’ salaries,” partly read the statement.
Lecturers at the University of Bahr el Ghazal and Rumbek University of Science are currently on strike due to unpaid salary arrears.
They are demanding the government address their outstanding payments before resuming teaching duties; this includes back pay for multiple months, flight ticket allowances, and medical arrears.
In addition, civil servants and members of the organized forces have gone 11 months without pay.
Several promises from the Ministry of Finance to clear salary arrears are yet to be realized as the country grapples with severe economic crisis, caused by hyperinflation and depreciation of the local currency hampering the livelihood of the citizens.