Bor College High, a private secondary school in the Jonglei State capital, Bor town, has been temporarily shut down after the state government ordered the school to vacate the premises it leased in 2016.
The evacuation order was effected last Friday.
Tuong Majok Deng, the acting governor, told Radio Tamazuj Monday morning that he ordered the evacuation because the state government was ready to make use of the facility.
“In 2016, the government came into agreement with the management of Bor College so that they can use the facility because we were not ready to use it,” he said. “But now the government wants its facility back.”
Majok said the evacuation order should not be a cause for alarm because the school administration was notified months earlier.
“As a government, we had a challenge of space to accommodate Malek Secondary School and for the training of our teachers by the partners. That is why we notified them some months back to vacate the facility but they have not been complying. So, on Friday, we locked the facility to them,” he said.
Bor College High, a private secondary school in Bor, was established in 2012. A month ago, a protracted ownership wrangle among the founders was brought to a halt, after the High Court ruled that the school be jointly owned by all the partners.
Mabior Atem Mabior, one of the founders, said they were notified about the evacuation and that they will relocate as soon as possible.
“It is not the school which has been shut down. It is the government taking back its facility. Two months ago, we were notified. We, the three shareholders whom the court awarded joint ownership rights agreed to relocate, with the exception of a partner who is in Juba,” he said. “My appeal is to let the students give us just three days to sit as partners.”
Another founding member, Panther Alier, said: “I was made aware about the government locking down the school last evening. As owners of the school, we are saying children should not be affected. We had some issues before the court as founding members. We were not able to construct our own facility so we have been renting from the government. “
Panther said the shutdown was unfortunate as it affects learning in the middle of the academic year but assured the students that an alternative is being found.