More than 200 teachers in the Jonglei State capital, Bor town, have laid down tools to protest a decision by the government to transfer their salaries from the education to the finance ministry.
Since early 2022, the protesting teachers had their salaries directly wired to and paid by the state education ministry following a series of protests in which the state government was accused of misappropriating money meant for teachers’ allowances.
Taking to the streets of Bor on Friday, several teachers, in interviews with Radio Tamazuj, expressed fears that this latest decision authorizing the state finance ministry to take charge of their salaries will allow for embezzlement and that they will continue protesting to protect their rights.
“We are demanding that our money not be transferred back to the (ministry) finance because it is not the custodian of our money. In 2022, we fought with the finance ministry because they were omitting some money like allowances,” Panchol Madit, one of the protesting teachers said. “The national government had to intervene and took our money to the state education ministry’s account. Taking it back to finance is what we do not want.”
Another teacher, John Deng Ajith, said they will not call off protests if their demand for the cancellation of the transfer of their salaries from the education to the finance ministry is not met.
“We are protesting because this decision means we may not receive our salaries normally,” he said. “If our rights are not met, then pupils and students will also not have their right to be taught.”
Deng, who also serves as the head of the Jonglei State Teachers’ Union (JSTU), said they had a meeting with the acting state governor on Wednesday in which they were promised that the decision would be reversed. However, the union official, said the promise has since not been made in writing, prompting them to protest.
For her part, Elizabeth Nyadak John, the state information minister, said they are aware of the protests but that they can not do anything about it because it is the prerogative of the national government.
“Ordering the transfer to the state block account came from Vice President Hussein Abdelbaggi in Juba and that does not mean that they will not get their salaries. They will get their salaries as usual,” she explained. “So let them not waste their time on the roads. Let them just go back to their work and those children should go back to class.”