Johannesburg - Student protesters in Johannesburg temporarily suspended the national higher education shutdown protest on Tuesday to honour the late Mthokozisi Ntumba.
Student Representative Council (SRC) leaders suspended the protest during the day as a night vigil was held for Ntumba.
Ntumba was allegedly shot and killed by a police officer at MyClinic Medical Centre in Braamfontein, after visiting the clinic.
In other parts of the country students took to the streets to demonstrate their frustrations, while other universities have yet to join the national shutdown due to the differences in their academic calendar.
Activities continued as normal in the city’s top institutions, the University of Johannesburg and Wits University. Law enforcement visibility remained present throughout the day, while security remained tight at the entrances of both universities.
Following traffic disruptions and protesters disrupting businesses in Braamfontein on the first day of protest, police and security personnel were seemingly on high alert.
Things were tense outside UJ’s main campus, Kingsway, after it emerged that the university had hired a private security company to dispatch student protesters who were gathering inside its premises.
The university’s SRC president, Simphiwe Methula, alleged that the security company was hostile towards them.
“They used pepper spray on us and students had to run away. A meeting was scheduled to discuss the way forward around this protest.”
At the time of the interview, 4pm, Methula said that they were still waiting for other members to plan for the day as things remained quiet.
Attempts to get comments from UJ’s spokesperson, Herman Esterhuizen, drew a blank.
Wits University recently communicated that its senior executive team would consult with members of the council and other stakeholders before engaging with the SRC.
Asked to provide an update on the university’s senior executive team meetings, university spokesperson Shirona Patel said: “There is a meeting scheduled for this evening, as far as I know.”
The university’s SRC president, Mpendulo Mfeka, on Monday told the media that the university’s vice-chancellor, Professor Zeblon Vilakazi, had cancelled their meeting.
Speaking at the National Assembly on Tuesday, Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande said the government would be supporting more than 700 000 students in TVET colleges and universities this year.
“In addition, individual institutions are dealing with the challenge of those students who fall outside the National Student Financial Aid Scheme and are indebted.”
Nzimande stated that many of the institutions had offered to look at the individual cases, focusing on students who were doing well in their final year of studying.
According to the minister, the Cabinet had also taken a decision to have a comprehensive review of student funding, which would consider the missing middle elements.
Meanwhile, the four police officers linked to the death of Ntumba are set to appear in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.
The Star