BARBERTON – Students from the local technical and vocational education and training college (TVET) campus, enrolled under a carpentry learnership programme, have boycotted classes.
The students claim that their monthly stipends are outstanding. They have vowed not to return to classes until their owed monies are paid to them.
The students explained the proramme is for a duration of one year, having commenced in March and expected to finish next March.
Nonhlanhla Ngomane, one of the students, said when they were enrolled in the programme, they were promised that each student will receive a monthly stipend of R2 500. She said they were later surprised when they learnt that they will receive R1 500 a month.
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“For March, April and May, the R1 500 stipend payments went well. But for May, June and July, nothing was paid. We are now on August. We don’t know if we will receive our stipends or not. Some of us are renting rooms and are at the risks of being kicked out by our landlords,” said Ngomane.
Another student, who asked not to be named, said her landlord has already threatened to evict her, as she is behind on rent payments.
“I go to classes hungry every day because I have no money for meals. They always promise to do something, but nothing happens,” she said.
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Sipho Ndlazi of Elimofo Trading, whose company is contracted to offer the carpentry course to the students, said he can’t comment on the matter. “I’m just a mere service provider here. The people who can comment on the matter are the TVET management,” said Ndlazi.
Khadi Baloyi, project manager at TVET, said he was aware of the stipends owed to the learners.
“The monies to pay the students is subsidised by the national skills fund. It is paid in trenches. We received the first trench and we managed to pay the students for their March, April and May stipend. We are now still waiting for the next trench to be paid out so that we can pay the students,” said Baloyi.
He blamed the students for rushing to the media to raise the issue instead of using internal channels.
