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New policy under fire Students arrested following protest against changes
} Tladi Moloi PHUTHADITJHABA. – The police were left with no option but to use rubber bullets to disperse about 3 000 students of the Maluti FET College in Qwaqwa who were protesting over the new National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) bursary policy on Thursday. According to Makgala Moloi-Labase of the marketing and communication unit of the college, the policy states the college should not give remaining money of the bursary to the students like they used to do before. “They received bursaries and after paying all necessary things like accommodation, tuition fees and books, we gave the remaining money to them. However, the government says we should not do that anymore, but return the money to them,” she explains. The fuming students went to the main campus in the early hours of the morning where they burned tyres and a visitors’ bench before breaking into the offices. They then left the premises with the aim of doing the same at the Itemoheleng Campus. However, they came across a police Nyala vehicle which prevented them from reaching their destination. They returned to the main campus, but they were met by armed policemen. The students threw stones at them and the police responded with rubber bullets. The police arrested 30 of the students taking part in the illegal protest action. They appeared before the Phuthaditjhaba Magistrate’s Court on Friday, facing charges of public violence and malicious damage to property. A total of 28 students were released, while two of them remained behind bars. These two appeared before court again on Monday. They were released on free bail. Another three people were arrested on Monday. They will appear in court soon. One of the students, who prefers to remain anonymous, explained the reason for the students’ anger. “We want our money. We have to repay the money, because it is a loan. So if they don’t give us the change, what are they doing with it? This principal is coming with changes (in the policy). We can’t allow that to happen.” Moloi-Labase says the principal of the college is not happy with what has
ON FIRE: A visitors’ bench which was set alight by students of the Maluti FET College in Qwaqwa during a protest. Photos: Tladi Moloi happened. She says the principal had a meeting with the students regarding the new bursary policy last Tuesday. “They did not look like people who had problems then, as they left the meeting without any complaints. They only showed their dissatisfaction in the protest,” she says. Moloi-Labase says that shows that the SRC members did not give the students correct feedback, that is why they protested. “The SRC members were not even part of the protest. They were in Bloemfontein.” She says there is nothing that they can do, because the policy has changed. “We are not allowed to pay out the remaining amount of the bursary like before. Those who are travelling more than 10 km will still get the transport allowance. As for those who are renting, we are now dealing directly with the landlord. We will not give the students the money for accommodation.”
LOCKED UP: Students of the Maluti FET College in Qwaqwa who took part in an illegal protest action are arrested.