UJ students protest again

Minister of Higher Education and Training Blade Nzimande. File photo: Masi Losi

Minister of Higher Education and Training Blade Nzimande. File photo: Masi Losi

Published Jan 31, 2014

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Johannesburg - Students at the University of Johannesburg would hold another protest outside of the campus on Friday morning, Students for Justice said.

“Our protest on Friday at 8am is meant to address various issues, including the lack of transparency in the allocation of NSFAS (National Student Financial Aid Scheme) funds by the university,” said spokesman Enerst Hasha.

Hasha said Students for Justice was an internal organisation at UJ, and also had professionals from various fields as members.

The students also demanded that registration be extended so that students who will be approved for NSFAS after the budget increase can be accommodated.

Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande announced on Thursday that the NSFAS coffers would be boosted with a further R1 billion.

“Registration closes today (Friday) and so far there has been no communication from the university as to what would happen to students who have had no chance to register, more especially those who have been suspended,” said Hasha.

“We however welcome the new development as announced by the minister.”

He said the suspension of students should be lifted to allow them to focus on the new academic year.

The UJ said on Tuesday that it had suspended 20 students and others who were not yet registered, for participating in a strike on Monday.

The institution said the strike was marred by violence and intimidation, and also disrupted daily administrative routines on the campus.

Several university campuses in the country had been plagued by student protests in the past few days after the SA Students Congress (Sasco) called for protests against the NSFAS.

They demanded access to NSFAS funding for all deserving and qualifying students and an end to alleged racism in some of the institutions.

The Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) suspended classes on Thursday due to protests. - Sapax

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