Durban – Six students from the Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT) were arrested at the institution’s uMlazi campus on Monday during protests.
The students are demanding improved living conditions and solutions to the poor administration of financial aid funding, including living allowances.
There was a strong police presence at the institution and MUT management was set to brief students and the media before 1pm, although the briefing had not taken place at that time.
According to one of KwaZulu-Natal’s police spokespersons, captain Nqobile Gwala, about 70 students started protesting outside the institution at 8.30am.
“Five suspects have been arrested for public violence,” said Gwala. A sixth student is understood to have been arrested later in the day.
Protests started early on Monday morning, with tyres set alight and placed in roads outside the institution. But police and the fire department soon had the area cleared, with students then taking their protests into the campus area.
While in the campus grounds, students starting throwing rocks and bricks at police, who responded with teargas. The situation remains volatile, with groups of students dissipating and then regrouping.
On Sunday night, students from the University of KwaZulu-Natal threw bed frames, mattresses and other objects from windows at a residence on Hospital Road in the South Beach area. They too were demanding improved living conditions and unblocking of students who have not been able to pay their loans.
Durban University of Technology (DUT) students were marching to city hall on Monday with a list of demands that were almost identical to those of protesting students at other institutions.