Snl24 | Nsfas chaos: Student shot during protest!
Students at Tshwane North College, Temba campus protesting for their Nsfas allowances. Photo by Thokozile Mnguni
ANGRY students at Tshwane North College, Temba campus have threatened to continue fighting if their demands are not met.
The students have been protesting for almost a week demanding their allowances from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas).
Mokgethi Nkadimeng, SRC chairman on the campus said the protest was fuelled by the issues related to Nsfas.
He highlighted the frustration of students who have been awaiting their allowances since February, with no progress so far.
“We want the management to give us feedback in terms of the dates of the payments. Nsfas pays students via a service provider called Norraco Corporation, but we believe both entities are not doing their job. When students check their statuses, the system says no contact details are found, which means there’s no data yet,” said Nkadimeng.
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He said this delay is causing a struggle for students because they don’t have money to pay for their rented rooms.
“Landlords are now threatening to kick out students from their properties,” said Nkadimeng said.
On Thursday, 11 April, Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande dissolved the Nsfas board with immediate effect, placing the institution under administration.
Nkadimeng said the move by minister Nzimande will not solve anything since he himself is the problem.
The situation took a violent turn when student, Maltin Madi, was shot in the chest and leg by security guards during the protest.
Maltin Madi, who was shot on his chest and leg during a protest at Tshwane North College, Temba Campus. Photo by Thokozile Mnguni
Maltin said the rubber bullets were fired without a warning after he tried to prevent the guards who wanted to put off the fire.
“I’m in pain and I will be opening a case against the guards. I was preventing them from pouring water on the fire and in split seconds they just started firing shots,” he said.
Maltin Madi, who was shot on his chest and leg during a protest at Tshwane North College, Temba campus. Photo by Thokozile Mnguni
An inquiry has been sent to Tshwane North College via email and a response was sent confirming the email was received and that it will be forwarded to the relevant person who will be in touch with the publication.
Higher Education spokesman Veli Mbele said he will be able to comment at a later stage to give a comprehensive reply.
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