Students at the Dr. John Garang University of Science and Technology in the Jonglei State capital, Bor town, on Thursday, held protests at the environs of the university, calling for the resumption of the lectures.
The students blocked the main road linking Bor airport to the rest of the town.
Several students told Radio Tamazuj this afternoon that they demand the reopening of the institution, and that more protests will be held in the coming days if their demands are not met.
One fourth-year student, Machar Samuel, said: “It has been two years since our university was closed. And after the Covid-19 lockdown was lifted, all schools reopened but our university remains closed. So, we demand that the government should avail food for the university reopen.”
Another student, Ayuen Garang, urged the government to immediately intervene, by supplying food for the university to be reopened.
The protesting students warned of more protests if the university is not reopened by next week.
The head of the university’s students Union, Ajith Solomon Awan, said the students protested Thursday because they are frustrated as the university resumption delays.
“We try to convince them not to go on strike but to wait until next week as there are talks ongoing, but they refused because there were promised several times and nothing had worked out. The demands are that the university is reopened and our food contractor is paid by the government to bring food,” he said.
For his part, Abraham Matoc, the university’s Vice-Chancellor, urged the students to be patient as they engage the government to allocate the money needed for the students feeding before the institution reopens.