The Student Representative Council (SRC) president at the University of the Free State (UFS) is adamant that they will only consider protest action if an actual fee increment is announced by the government for next year.
The South African Union of Students (SAUS), a federation of student representative councils from 26 higher education institutions, on Friday warned of a possible tertiary education institution shutdown from today.
They indicated that they would not rest until there was free higher education for all in South Africa.
Lindokuhle Ntuli says they will meet with students this week to get an official mandate from them to present to the government.
The Central University of Technology’s (CUT) SRC president, Solomon Khiba, also indicated that they will meet with different stakeholders first and then decide on a way forward.
“When the students stood in solidarity against a fee increase last year, it was to say that we already have so many challenges. Once you are increasing fees you are denying many students who are coming from a poor background the opportunity to higher education. The principle still stands, we cannot allow for fees to increase,” says Ntuli.
Mark Steenbok/Courant News
