Students riots erupted on the morning of 26 January at the Alex campus of the Central Johannesburg College leading to a temporary closure of the institution.
A member of the Student Representative Council, Susan Banda said the students had listed five grievances for college management to address, and high on that list was a demand for the dismissal of the head of the Hair Care and Cosmetology department, Lucy Matsena.
They accused Matsena of incompetence, and failure to address students issues about equipment and books for the department. “We have been complaining to the authorities at the college for the past two years and nothing has been done, and hence we have decided to resort to rioting if that is the language they will understand in order to address our grievances,” said Banda.
She said the other issues related to fees. The college claims the students owe R1.5 million in outstanding fees and it is demanding a down payment of R6 000 from each student before they can be re-registered for this year.
The students dispute this and said they do not owe the college anything as the fees were supposed to be met by the government. Other demands made by the students include calling on management to ensure that the courses offered under the department were accordingly registered and accredited.
Banda said the course was presented to the students as a two-year long course, but the certificate indicated that it was a one-year course. Both the lack of accreditation for the course and the discrepancies in the number of years taken to do it will mean that students will not be allowed to sit for their City and Guilds Certificate next month.
College principal Jeff Sibeko said management was prepared to meet with the students to iron out the issues.
“We are ready and willing to meet with them for as long as they too are willing to enter into negotiations to address the thorny issues,” Sibeko said.
