Gamalakhe TVET students embark on protest action
The students have handed over memorandums of grievances to the campus manager on three different occasions, promises had reportedly been made but nothing had changed.
Protest action at universities and TVET colleges has flared up around the province, with some students starting off the 2019 academic year in volatile circumstances.
Fed up with on-going issues including a lack of resources, poor infrastructure and National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) allowances, students at the Esayidi TVET in Gamalakhe joined in the protests.
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For more than a week, the students have protested and disrupted classes at the institution, demanding answers from college management.
The angry students complained about poor accommodation facilities, inadequate meals, lack of books, poor computer lab facilities and financial irregularities.
Students burnt tyres and prevented college staff from entering the premises, saying their concerns were not being addressed.
They added that several meetings had been held with management, but that nothing positive had been achieved.
There have also been calls for campus manager, Nelly Mbhele to resign as the students claimed she ‘was of no help’ to them.
Issues the students want addressed include:
* Poor meals at their accommodation facilities;
* NSFAS allowances and book allowances – students claim that in some instances, allowances had not been paid to students, despite NSFAS insisting on numerous occasions that funds had been released to the institution.
* Lack of adequate library resources – students said that there were no new books at the library and what information was available was outdated.
“If you do get a book at the library you will find that pages are missing or they are in a terrible state. Staff at the library are being paid every month yet we are told by the campus manager that the institution does not receive funds for library resources,” said one student representative.
* Poor computer facilities – students said often during exams the college would have only eight computers working, forcing students to re-write the exam.
They said they also feared for their safety as there was a lack of security at the institution.
“We have no student cards to identify ourselves, anyone can just come in. Security personnel are only armed with pepper spray to defend us against any criminal activities. This is dangerous, especially for those staying at res,” the group said.
There are also allegations that money pumped into the institution by the Agricultural Sector Education Training Authority (Agri-Seta) is nowhere to be found, despite AgriSeta having confirmed that the funds were released.
The students have handed over memorandums of grievances to the campus manager on three different occasions, promises had reportedly been made but nothing had changed.
They said they would stay away from classes until they got ‘proper answers’.
Ms Mbhele said she was not at liberty to talk to the media and directed all queries to the college’s spokesman, Sicelo Ndlovu.
Mr Ndlovu said he had heard about the protest and issues at the college but had not met with college management or student representatives to determine the cause.
He said he would be ‘working on obtaining information from both parties before a proper response could be issued’.
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