[Left - Right] Students on government scholarship in Zimbabwe sleep in the embassy corridors in Harare, and students representatives with Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Gabriel Gai Riak. PHOTO: Courtesy

The Minister of Higher Education says the responsibility of paying the remaining tuition fees for the students in Zimbabwe lies with the Minister of Finance and not his office.

Yien Oral says the Minister, Salvatore Garang was instructed by the Council of Ministers in January to pay the fees and allowances of all those on government scholarships.

On Tuesday, students in Zimbabwe occupied the premises of the South Sudan embassy in Harare -forcing it to close down.

The students say they have been denied their transcripts by their various Universities due to unpaid tuition fees by the government of South Sudan.

They also said they are being denied food by their universities, and do not have any allowance to cater for their needs.

Moses Kat Monyjok, a Chemical Engineering student, and President of South Sudanese Students’ Union in Zimbabwe is among the 79 who have completed their studies.

He said about 130 students are currently sleeping in the cold in the limited space within the embassy.

The students urge the government to respond to their plight.

“It is very unfortunate to see that our students are occupying the embassy,” Yien Oral, Minister of Higher Education said, adding that he does not understand why the Minister of Finance has not cleared the arrears of the students.

“In January we presented a memo to the Council of Ministers, and among the students of Zimbabwe, there were so many other students around the world – and the minister of finance was directed to pay these debts and this amount of money, but nothing has been realized,” he told Eye Radio on Friday.

Read related story: https://www.eyeradio.org/50000-approved-students-zimbabwe/

Last year, the Council of Ministers approved a part payment of $500,000 for the tuition fees for students on government scholarship in Zimbabwe.