Parliament - President Jacob Zuma and his cabinet were hard at work trying to solve the student fees crisis which have led to protests that swept across the country, Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe said on Friday.
“The seriousness with which government looks at the grievances of the students has led the president to call the leaderships of the students and university today (on Friday) so as to get to the depth of the issues with a view to finding a solution,” Radebe said during the fortnightly post cabinet media briefing.
“The president will brief the nation later as this is a matter of national importance.”
Radebe said the protests were extensively discussed during Wednesday’s cabinet meeting in Cape Town, just hours before students stormed Parliament in a bid to highlight their grievances to the country’s politicians.
“Cabinet was briefed by the minister of higher education and training on the current interaction he is having with all the relevant stakeholders to find a solution to the fees increases,” Radebe said.
“Cabinet was also appraised on the work that is being done towards improving the management of the NSFAS [National Student Financial Aid Scheme]. The recommendations are to be tabled to cabinet in its next cycle.”
ANA