By Nqobile Dludla
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) –
Thousands of students rallied at top South African universities on
Monday in protest at plans to hike tuition fees, extending a spate of
campus unrest that has included demonstrations against colonial-era
statues and the language of instruction.
South Africa’s student body, mostly black, is hampered by
tight funding and the lingering effects of discrimination dating from
the era of white-minority rule, with the proportion of blacks in higher
education still relatively low.
The University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), where the
protest wave began last week, this weekend suspended its fee hike plan
pending a final decision later in the day, while Rhodes University and
the University of Cape Town (UCT) suspended classes in response to student demonstrations.
Protesting students, some of whom are white, are
demanding that the fee rises due to take effect next year — reported to
be up to 11.5 percent depending on the university — be scrapped, saying
poorer learners cannot afford the increase.
“In our fight for free education we need to ensure that
all students can have access to these institutions and not only a
certain class of students can have access,” said Nompendulo Mkhatshwa,
student council president-elect at Wits.
Click here for the full article.
Source: Euronews
No comments:
Post a Comment