Police have fired stun grenades and teargas to disperse thousands of students in the capital Pretoria, who have been protesting against a proposed hike in university fees in South Africa.
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Though protests in Pretoria erupted into chaos earlier on Friday, with activists tearing down security fences and setting portable toilets alight, most of the other marches remained peaceful, despite a strong police crackdown.
“Students who qualify for NSFAS funding, students who submit letters from sponsors, and financially needy students who make the necessary financial arrangements with the university will be allowed to register without paying the initial fee on registration, provided that they meet all other criteria”, the statement said.
Zuma made the announcement in a nationally televised address following 10 days of demonstrations that led to violent clashes with the police and more than 100 arrests in the biggest student protests since the end of apartheid in 1994.
Students protesting against tuition fee increases hurled stones at police guarding the Union Buildings. The Union Buildings are the official seat of the South African government and where African National Congress (ANC) leader Nelson Mandela was inaugurated president in 1994 after the collapse of white-supremacist apartheid rule.
After the storming of the South African Parliament by student protesters on Wednesday, ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe met with students.
Meanwhile, Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande is meeting university student leaders to discuss a decision by students not to abandon their “Fees Must Fall” campaign.
And, when large crowds rallied outside the main government complexes in Pretoria on Friday to demand that Zuma address them directly, police forces pelted them with water cannons, stun grenades, and tear gas.
Problems within the tertiary education sector in South Africa were broader than fees, Zuma added. “We’re not here to fight or to do anything, we are asking Zuma to implement their policy that will ensure that a black child is being given a sufficient opportunity to get education”, one student told Reuters. This will just obviously increase the inequality in our society, we’ll have less graduates out there.
SAHRC spokesperson Isaac Mangena says they welcome the outcome of the discussions. But similar issues affected universities across the country, not just Wits, and so the protests spread like wildfire.
In South Africa, 79% of the population is Black, while 9% is white.
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Madzena reported that a new development in an act of solidarity was academics dressed in their gowns and acting as human barricades to protect these students.
