Government officials in Aweil East State have approved the deduction of part of civil servants' salaries to cater for the running costs of the Northern Bahr el Ghazal University.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Monday, the state Information Minister, Garang Malong Yor, said the council of ministers has approved a proposal by the state education ministry to deduct part of civil servants' salaries backdated to May to run Northern Bahr El Ghazal University.
Malong said the proposal will be adopted and implemented once the state legislative assembly approves it.
He revealed that the governments of Aweil, Aweil East, and Lol states agreed to each contribute 150,000 South Sudanese Pounds monthly to the university’s administration as direct support.
However, South Sudan’s Higher Education minister Yien Oral Lam said Northen Bahr el Ghazal University is not recognized as a public institution of higher learning.
“We don't have a university with that name, and I don't know on what basis the state government is deducting salaries and where does that money go?” he asked.
The minister noted that public universities accredited by the ministry included the University of Juba, University of Bahr el Ghazal, John Garang University of Science and Technology, Upper Nile University and Rumbek University.