The government of Upper Nile State has started a partial payment of salary arrears to primary schools teachers, following two weeks of strike that disrupted learning in the state capital.
The payment salary arrears for the teaching staff comes after hundreds of pupils staged a peaceful demonstration in the streets of Malakal Thursday, in a show of support.
The state Information Minister Luk Sadallah confirmed on Friday, the government formed a committee to address the teachers grievance after the demonstration.
Sadallah said the resolved that teachers are paid promptly – which the minister of Education started implementing yesterday.
“So according to the committee’s information they have resolved the problem and started clearing the two months salaries. They were demanding a four months’ salary, but the two months have not yet reached here in Juba, so this is their demand that is why they staged a peaceful protest.” he told Eye Radio.
Two week ago, primary school teachers demanding salary payment, refused to get to work, resulting in the disruption of classes across the state capital.
After the strike, hundreds of agitated school children from five schools partook in a demonstration to back their teachers and coerce the government to pay their dues.
Meanwhile, a teacher only referred to as Peter from John Garang Primary School in Malakal town confirms to Eye Radio he was among those who received the two-month salaries.
“It is true, let me tell you all the details. Yesterday we were protesting because of our rights, our rights have been revised by the ministry because those who were not in the field were the people who took the money,” he said.
However, Peter said they are only paid two months salary, and that they have not signed for the months of May and June respectively.
“It was three months, but they paid two months, so yesterday all they did was just give the money to those names in the pay-sheet.”