FILE PHOTO: A teacher seen in this class in one of the schools in Aweil South Sudan - courtesy

Authorities in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State have sentenced eight teachers to 30 days in jail for what officials call ‘creatng insecurity’ after protesting at the state ministry of general education on Wedneday.

Major General Mayom Riak, the Northern Bahr El-Ghazal State Deputy Police Commissioner, said the teachers were jailed for disrupting operations and engaging in a physical altercation with senior staff at the state ministry of general education and instruction.

“They went and they started fighting with the senior staff who were there. The minister was in a different place, was not in the ministry. So, Police has to go in, they were called and arrested,” he said.

“After a while, they were taken, ang given Form 13 and were taken to court, and all of them were sentence to one month, because they have created insecurity within the vicinity. And also, they have offended the public institution they are working in, because they are teachers,” he added.

On Thursday, a teacher who declined to named for fear of being arrested by authorities, told Eye Radio the eight teachers were arrested after petitioning the state Governor Simon Ober Mawut, demanding for the sacking of Valentino Anei Deng, the Acting Director of the State Ministry of General Education and Instruction.

Deng later confirmed the incident to Eye Radio but said he and his staff were injured when the teachers stormed the ministry’s premises.

He said the dispute originated from his recent order removing some of the teachers from a steering committee set up to organise elections for the leadership of the state teachers’ union.

“From October until June, they did not fulfil the mandate that was given to them. So, at the Ministry, I have decided to replace this steering committee with another new one, tasked to review the constitution, mobilize the resources and conduct Teachers’ Union elections,” he told Eye Radio earlier on Thursday.

The arrested teachers include Luka Lual Garang, the Chairperson of the state Teachers’ Union, along with William Garang Awan, Kon Deng Kon, James Yel Yel, Dut Amet, and Deng Garang.