As the strike enters its third week, the defiant lecturers have challenged higher education minister Dr Peter Adwok Nyaba to sack them and recruit “lecturers who do not go hungry”.

The lecturers declared the sit-down more than two weeks ago, demanding for three months of unpaid salaries, medical coverage and airline ticket allowances.

The coalition of academic staff of public universities across the country say they will continue with it despite an order from the minister of higher education to resume the lectures.

In response, the Minister of Higher Education and Technology, Dr Peter Adwok Nyaba wrote early this month to the vice chancellors of the five public universities, giving a directive for lectures to resume and said that in case of disobedience, disciplinary measures would be taken against those who refused to return to classes.

However, the educators are “disobedient” and have vowed to resume work unless all their demands are met.

Last week, Philip Finish Apollo, the President of the Association of Academic Staffs at the University of Juba said the general assembly held a meeting in which they resolved to continue with their strike and warned the Vice Chancellor, John Akech, against involving himself in the matter.

“We are not happy. [We] denounced the letter written by the minister, directing the five vice chancellors of the public universities to take administrative disciplinary measures against those who are not considering the current economic situation of the country,” said Mr Apollo.

Other members of the teaching staff held a similar meeting at the University of Bahr al-Ghazal last week, during which they also condemned the statements issued by Dr Adwok.

Apungy Kulang Tapiny, a representative of the university lecturers in Wau, spoke to the press after the meeting on the resolutions they came up with.

“We condemn the letter of the minister just like other academic staff from other universities; number two, the strike goes ahead; Three, the minister must withdraw his letter; number four, the minister must apologize to the academic staff for his letter, and no vice chancellor should touch a member of the coalition, especially those who were named in the letter because it actually touched all the academic staff in South Sudan,” said Mr Kulang.

For his part, Dr Adwok said, he does see any reason for a sit-down strike, since the economic crisis is a national problem.

He argued that the insistence of the lecturers to be on sit-down strike is unreasonable and could amount to a civil disobedience.

“I cannot apologize. Apologize for what? It is very unreasonable for the lecturers to continue with the strike being aware of the economic situation in the country,” he stated.

“The money is not being paid because there is no money and they are not the only ones affected by the crisis; other civil servants are even worse.”

“Lecturers who do not go hungry”

However, lecturers at the Dr John Garang Memorial University in Bor, Jonglei, have decided to give exams to students and continue with their open pay strike later.

The chairperson of academic staff association at the university, Deng Mach Awan, says the students are suffering like the lecturers and should not be victims of the strike.

“I called my colleagues and said let this examination finish and when the students go home, we shall close down all public universities and the minister of [higher] education should [then] appoint lecturers who don’t go hungry,” Mr Mach said.

“We were asking for the delayed salaries and the minister called it civil disobedience. We were asking for air ticket allowances and the minister called it disobedience….. So I don’t know why the minister calls these issues disobedience. So I accepted the situation and allowed my examination committee to give exams so that these kids can go home,” he added. 

The higher learning institutions affected by the strike are: the University of Juba, University of Bahr al-Ghazal, University of Rumbek, University of Upper Nile and Dr John Garang Memorial University of Science and Technology.