Arop Jonchol
Wau: Al-Wadi Newspaper
The deputy director of Bahr el-Ghazal University, Professor Ernio Bernardo Oshi, announced on Wednesday the dissolution of the Faculty Association and the Labor Union at the university after lecturers went on strike protesting unpaid financial dues.
The decision came after the lecturers refused to supervise exams due to delayed payments related to meals, incentives for correcting exams for the second semester of 2024, and March salaries for new employees.
Professor Oshi said in an official statement, “In accordance with Article 50 (1)(a) of the Higher Education Act of 2012, I, Professor Dr. Ernio Bernardo Oshi, Deputy Director, hereby dissolve the Faculty Association and the Labor Union of Bahr el-Ghazal University, effective from April 23, 2025.”
Oshi explained that his administration had granted South Sudanese citizens the right to form associations and unions according to the functions and constitutional obligations outlined, noting that Article 25 (1)(2) of the 2011 Transitional Constitution, as amended in 2023, guarantees these rights.
However, Oshi added that the actions and functioning of these associations and unions conflicted with the students’ rights to take their supplementary and substitute exams, as stipulated in Article 29 (1)(2) of the Constitution.
In turn, Joseph Lawal Darywa, president of the faculty association, told “The Down English” newspaper on Thursday that the administration had dismissed 5 members of the association due to their involvement in the strike.
Darywa explained that the dismissed members included the presidents of the association and union, as well as three deans from the faculties of Agriculture, Education, and Economic and Social Studies.
