South Darfur teachers down chalk over unpaid dues

On Wednesday, dozens of teachers who were appointed within the National Project for the Employment of Graduates in Nyala, capital of South Darfur, organised a vigil in front of the state Ministry of Finance in protest against the non-payment of their increased salaries for June.

Addressing the protestors at the vigil, teacher Ibrahim Ishag said that they received their full salaries in May, in accordance with the new salary structure, but when they received their salaries of June, they were surprised to find the salaries based on the old situation, unlike their colleagues, who received their salaries according to the new amendment.

In April, the Sudanese Ministry of Finance announced an increase in the minimum wage in the country from SDG 425* to SDG 3,000, to be implemented in May.The salaries of civil servants would go up with an average of 569 per cent – the largest increase in the history of the civil service in the country.

Ishag said they had been visiting the Ministry of Finance headquarters to deal with the problem for no avail.

The teachers announced that sit-in in front of the Ministry of Finance will continue until their salaries are paid.

Restructuring plan

In January, Sudan’s Minister of Education announced that the government decided to double salaries for teachers as part of a plan to restructure Sudan’s education system, to make the profession more attractive, and guarantee high-score students places at university.

* USD 1 = SDG 55.1375 at the time of posting. As effective foreign exchange rates can vary in Sudan, Radio Dabanga bases all SDG currency conversions on the daily middle US Dollar rate quoted by the Central Bank of Sudan (CBoS).

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