#NationalShutdown: Prince Kaybee walks the talk with students
DJ Prince Kaybee took to the streets with students to protest for free education during the ongoing #NationalShutdown protest.
WITS STUDENTS PROTESTS
The South African Student Congress (Sasco), along with other student organisations, called for a national shutdown of all universities across South Africa following the week-long protests by outraged Wits students who were not able to register due to historical debt.
During the Wits protests, the 35-year-old student Mthokozisi Ntumbawas shot dead allegedly by a member of the South African Police Services (SAPS) last Wednesday 10 March. Ntumba’s death sparked strong emotions in Prince Kaybee which led to him joining the protests himself.
Total debt owed to universities is R9-billion, according to Professor Jonathan Jansen of Stellenbosch University.
The chart below shows how Wits debt has grown as growing unemployment has forced students to seek financial aid. Out of a student complement of 37,500, 27,000 require some form of financial aid.
The university provides support amounting to R1-billion a year in a mix of funds from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), the University Council and from donors. But this week’s protests, which are exploding largely at Wits and the University of Johannesburg (UJ), show even these amounts are insufficient.
Wits and UJ are among the best-endowed universities because they are in the economic heartland of Johannesburg, while the rest of the 23 tertiary institutions targeted for protests are likely to be in a more parlous financial position.
Wits senior management locked in talks over student demands Students at campuses across the country have embarked on a national shutdown over free higher education. FILE: Wits University. Picture: Supplied.
JOHANNESBURG - Wits senior management have been locked in talks over student demands to have historical debt scrapped.
Protests turned violent in Braamfontein on Monday after a female student was shot and wounded.
The police said that none of their members deployed in the area fired any shots during the protest, adding that only a smoke grenade and water cannons were used.
#NationalShutdown Police are hoping to interview the woman who was wounded during the protest in Braamfontein yesterday. Students claim she was shot by police officers, but the SAPS denies this. EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) March 16, 2021
The State is opposing bail for two out of four students arrested during a protest in Braamfontein because they have a pending case in the Western Cape.
GCIS
The meeting comes after the SA Students Union declared a nationwide shutdown of universities.
Acting Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka is expected to hold a series of engagements with universities over the next five weeks
Chaotic scenes have emerged following SASU declaring a nationwide shutdown of all 26 universities.
Acting Public Protector Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka is expected to have a virtual meeting with Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande as part of her effort to find a solution to the problems many university students face. We see this volatility every single year. The question is where is the planning? How do we make sure that students are in lecture halls at the start of each academic year rather than see them pouring into the streets to protest for access to tertiary education? How do we curb the arrests and the brutality at the hands of the police? We need to find lasting solutions, Gcaleka said.