Student protesters at the university of the Witwatersrand and UCT are gathering in numbers in a bid to shut down campuses in response to a fee hike proposal for next year – while the SAPS is out in force, firing rubber bullets and stun grenades to disperse the crowds.
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The students are reacting to a South African government announcement that universities can increase fees by up to 8 percent next year.
During protests previous year, students renamed the building the Lillian Ngoyi Building.
Meanwhile, government on Sunday said it had noted with concern media reports that protesting students at the University of Stellenbosch have been injured after clashing with security on campus.
Earlier on Tuesday morning, police warned about 30 students blockading the road leading to upper campus with two canoes, a vehicle, a bench and a tree branch that they were obstructing a public road and would face “procedure” should they not remove the objects. The students were later released. Some guards threw projectiles back at the students.
According to the statement, the university supported lawful and peaceful protests, while condemning all forms of violence and intimidation. Hundreds of students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal marched in the city of Pietermaritzburg.
Last Thursday, a group of about 200 protesters, including UCT workers and students and students from other universities, engaged in protest action, disrupting the Jammie shuttle service operating on the lower campus and on the Sandown route.
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We, the members of the University of Cape Town, call on all stakeholders to urgently address the systemic crisis in higher education in South Africa. As part of government’s plan to help poor students, all fee increases for students on the NSFAS – and those in the so-called “missing middle” – would be covered by taxpayers.
