Most universities across the country have been fighting for free education and don’t want an increment.
Advertisement
The students later discarded their rocks and entered the building under heavy police presence, where they gathered in a hall seeking an audience with university authorities. The Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, in the coastal city of Port Elizabeth, has shut for two days.
It was a clash between forces as Wits University students stood firm in their demand for free education despite a strong and armed police presence.
Classes were also disrupted at Tshwane University of Technology and the University of the Free State.
He said universities would individually decide to increase fees but they should not exceed 8 percent.
Student protests against fee increases in South Africa turned violent on Wednesday as several universities suspended academic activities.
“National Treasury will continue to work with the Department of Higher Education and Training on the fees matter and will announce the results of the process during the MTBPS on the 26 October 2016”, it says. Wits students had meant to march to Braamfontein to mobilise students from private colleges – such as Boston and Rosebank – in order for them to join the march and thus expand the movement for free, decolonised education.
The statement goes on to bemoan the “failed” NSFAS system, the brutal deployment of private security forces and police, worker outsourcing, and a lack of commitment from the government.
According to the SABC channel, at least 20 students were arrested, while in Mahikeng, on the campus of the University of North West, clashes with the police took place.
Tuesday’s protests came a day after the government said that next year’s fee hikes would be capped at eight percent.
Earlier this month, 32 students were arrested after a law library at the University of KwaZulu-Natal was torched following protests over tuition fees.
“All South Africans would agree that if a student is admitted to a university to study towards a qualification in higher education, there should not be any exclusion based on their financial condition”, said Ahmed Bawa, the representative body’s chief executive.
Advertisement
According to Hatton, the university executive “made the hard decision to suspend classes” after consulting with different stakeholders.
