SANNIQUELLIE, Nimba – Students at the Nimba County Community College on Wednesday, May 16, 2018 staged a protest at the college in demand of one-month salary payment to their teaching staff.

Instructors at the college staged a strike about a week ago after previous negotiations with the administration to have their salaries paid a month ago failed to materialize.

Students at the college, under the banner of the Concerned Students Association, said the measure was aimed at attracting attention from both the local and national governments to intervene.

The chairperson of the group and president-elect of the Student Council Government, Thomas Tokpah, told The Bush Chicken via a telephone interview that the protest was called off after county leaders intervened.

“It is true that teachers have laid down their chalks and the president [of the college], Dr. [Yar] Gono, is in Monrovia working to see how they can have the issue resolved,” Tokpah said. “But the students went to meet the county administration today.”

Superintendent Dorr Cooper and other key personalities of the Nimba county administration are currently out of the county. However, the coordinator of the Nimba County Service Center, Mohammed Kromah, and Gompa Dahn of the Nimba County Project Management Committee met with the students.

Tokpah said students have now returned home after the leaders promised to ensure that the matter is resolved and that the teaching staff can return to work.

Protesting students being addressed by their leader. Photo: Jerry T. Myers/Radio Tappita

As agreed during the meeting with the county leaders, the students are expecting the situation to be resolved no later than Friday.

The spokesperson of the college’s faculty association, Nathan Gono, told The Bush Chicken that during the administration of former president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, faculty members received their salaries no later than the 10^th day of the following month.

“Right now, two months can pass before we receive salary for one month,” he said. “If such a thing continues to go on, we will go twelve months and receive six months’ salary.”

The faculty members are calling for the national government to intervene to address the situation on campus.

Meanwhile, the controller of the college, Nohnetta Leboe, told The Bush Chicken that she was out of the county and did not have any information on what was happening on the campus.

Featured photo by Jerry T. Myers/Radio Tappita