Durban - Students at three of the Durban University of Technology’s campuses engaged in marches on Monday to call for the removal of fees.
There were no immediate reports of violence as the marches and protests got under way.
University spokesman Alan Khan said that there were protests reported at the institution’s Pietermaritzburg campus as well as the Steve Biko and ML Sultan campuses in Durban, but that the institution was open.
A good few hundred #DUT students marching #Fees2017 #FeesMustFall @IOL @TheMercurySA pic.twitter.com/bKQ8LUSnK8
— Bernadette Wolhuter (@bernwolhuter) September 26, 2016
The institution had been closed last week and Monday marked the start of the fourth term.
He said that the interim vice chancellor, Dr John Vollmink, had written to staff, students and alumni on the latest situation regarding fees following the announcement by Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande last week that fees could be increased by as much as eight percent, but that government would provide extra funding for the poorest students.
He said that the institution was urging all students who protest, to do so peacefully and to respect the rights of those who did not want to protest.
Khan said that police and the university’s security were monitoring the situation.
African News Agency