The University of Limpopo (UL) on Tuesday suspended its academic programme after classes were disrupted as part of protest action engaged in by members of the Student Representative Council (SRC).
This after the University of Venda (Univen) management announced the suspension of the academic programme on Monday. The decision followed violent on-campus protest action by students that led to the arrest of one suspect on Friday. Provincial Police Spokesperson Moatshe Ngoepe confirmed the arrest.
The protest at Univen stemmed from an apparent delay in the pay-out of National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) allowances. A source at UL claimed the action by the UL’s SRC was taken in solidarity with the Univen students.
Director of Communications and Marketing at Univen, Takalani Dzaga was quoted saying the management of the institution would continue engaging with the NSFAS to resolve the issue of outstanding student allowances. “Management appeals to all students to put their studies first and to ensure that they are not academically disadvantaged by a further delay in the resumption of classes. The Chief Executive Officer of NSFAS gave his personal commitment that students would start receiving outstanding allowances from Monday and management will hold him to this commitment. If the payment of allowances occur as scheduled for Monday, Management expects the current student strike action to be called off and normal operations of the University to resume,” the statement read.
Ngoepe also said Police continue to monitor the state of affairs and have deployed enough personnel to deal with the situation.
UL Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Mahlo Mokgalong was quoted in a statement saying: “As a result of this morning’s disruptions (Tuesday), I have, after consultation with the Executive Committee of Senate, decided to suspend the academic programme on 7 and 8 August 2018 with a view to allow management to discuss the concerns raised with the Student Representative Council. Management tenders its profuse to all staff and student for the inconvenience caused.”
Story: Herbert Rachuene
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