South Sudan’s Ministry of Higher Education says it is ready to take applications for admission in the country’s public universities.

Addressing the press in Juba on Thursday, the Minister of Higher Education Yien Uroal Lam said secondary school leavers should now apply for 14,000 spaces at the universities of Juba, Bahr el Ghazal, Upper Nile, Rumbek and Dr. John Garang.

Lam further said the strike by students of Bahr el Ghazal University on Wednesday was due to a delay in feeding at the campus, saying the ministry of finance had failed to pay the company that provides the feeding services at the institution.

However, he noted that authorities in Wau State and other neighbouring states are in consultation to find a short term solution to the problem until the finance ministry pays the company.