Africa-Press – South-Sudan. A student leader at Dr. John Garang Memorial University says the institution has remained closed since the beginning of the 2025 academic year due to lack of feeding on campus.
Dr. John Garang Memorial University of Science and Technology operates a government-funded student feeding program but has repeatedly been interrupted due to delayed in payments from the ministry of finance and planning.
Malek Magok Garang, the Guild President of the University, said lectures were scheduled to start in March but were stalled by the administration due to lack of food supplies.
The student leader said the delay has interrupted and affected students including those completing their final classes.
He called on the government to clear the arears of the contractor to address the feeding crisis and allow for resumption academic programs.
“…it has affected all the students because their calendar is now changed. And maybe if it opens now, maybe this month or next month, maybe only one semester will be completed this year,” he said.
Garang called on the university authorities to cancel the feeding program altogether and allow for resumption of learning.
“One of the things, one of the solutions that we made was to open the schools and the feeding to be cut off by the government. But we related to the current situation in the country. And we tell them now the schools should be opened and it is you to cut off the feeding,” he said.
The university administration has not commented on the matter.
However, this is not the first time the university has delayed reopening due to shortage of food.
In 2021, the university partially closed some of its activities after the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning failed to pay the contractor that supplies food for student feeding.
Dr John Garang Memorial University of Science and Technology, based in Bor town, Jonglei State, is one of the five public universities in the country.
According to its website, the university has an enrolment of 1300 students from various parts of South Sudan.
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