Students at Dr. John Garang University of Science and Technology in Bor town, the capital of Jonglei State, resumed their protests this morning, demanding the reopening of the institution.
Two weeks ago, the students held similar protests in the environs of the university as they demanded that the government avail the resources needed to reopen the university after a year-long closure due to the Covid-19 lockdown.
The protests were however later called off with the striking group threatening that they would resume if their demands were not met immediately.
“Last month, we protested but we had to call off that protest because we were promised that our university will be reopened. But we have not seen anything positive. So, we are on the road again to demand that our university be reopened," a university student, Malong Riak, told Radio Tamazuj this afternoon, as he picketed.
Until this afternoon, Pakuau road, the main lifeline connecting Bor airport and the capital, Juba to the rest of Bor town, remained blocked, disrupting traffic and business.
Gai Alier John, another protester, wondered why the learning institution remained closed.
“Other universities in the country have reopened. Why are we locked out? We were told that food will be brought and the university reopened but it was just propaganda. So, today we blocked this road because the road serves the entire country and we want the government to know our concern,” Alier said.
The students warned that the protests will continue until the government and the university officials heed their calls.
For his part, Dr. Akim Ajith, the university’s spokesperson, said efforts are ongoing to address the concerns of the protesting students.
“Our students are protesting. The protests are peaceful. So, the students are being engaged. They are meeting the Vice-chancellor, the state authorities, and the vice president for the infrastructure cluster,” Dr. Ajith said.
Dr. John Garang University is one of the public universities in the country. The others are Juba University, Upper Nile University, Bahr el Ghazal University, and Rumbek University.