Classes disrupted at UCT, Maties
A large group of Wits students protesting against the new fees increase announcement, took to the streets of Braamfontein and Parktown on Tuesday. Picture: Antoine de Ras A large group of Wits students protesting against the new fees increase announcement, took to the streets of Braamfontein and Parktown on Tuesday. Picture: Antoine de Ras
Cape Town - A nationwide shutdown is continuing across university campuses, with hints the protests against Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande’s announcement this week on fees will become more intense “even if it means taking the fight to Parliament”.
In Cape Town classes were disrupted at the University of Cape Town and Stellenbosch University as the demand for free education continued.
Hours after police arrested students at Wits, protesters moved from the main campus to the education campus in Parktown where other students joined their protests against fee hikes announced on Monday.
Students marched against Nzimande’s recommendation that 2017 university tuition fees increases, to be determined by each university council, be capped at 8 percent.
The cap is higher than South Africa’s current inflation rate of 6 percent.
Nzimande said the government would assist qualifying students to fund the gap between the 2015 fee and the adjusted 2017 fee at their institutions. He said it was estimated the move would cost the government about R2.5 billion. However, students have rejected the hikes and continue to demand free education at universities.
UCT students barricaded entrances and disrupted lectures. Barricades were set up on Baxter Road, the northern entrance to upper campus at the top of Woolsack Avenue, the medical school campus and the south entrance.
A large group of students disrupted lectures, effectively preventing any access to campus. Students used boulders, tree stumps, rubble and canoes to barricade the access routes. UCT was eventually forced to suspend classes, lectures and tutorials yesterday and for today. Jammie Shuttle routes have been suspended and the library, including the 24/7 study area, is closed until further notice.
Riot police and private security tried to quell tensions through high visibility. The university’s executive has scheduled a meeting with student representatives to discuss the way forward.
Stellenbosch University’s Tygerberg campus was also blockaded, causing the suspension of classes. University spokesman Martin Viljoen said: “We are monitoring the situation. We acknowledge the students’ right to protest as long as they are not infringing on the rights of other students. There are contingency plans in place to deal with the situation as best as possible.”