Students fired up after state digs in amid university fees protests Student protests threaten to derail academic year; government criticised for prioritising SAA BL PREMIUM 16 March 2021 - 05:10 Bekezela Phakathi and Claudi Mailovich Student protests are set to intensify, potentially disrupting the academic year and closing down universities in a repeat of scenes in the latter stages of the Jacob Zuma administration during which the government capitulated and promised fee-free tuition. Academic activity, which was already under threat due to the uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns, faces further disruption after the government initially rejected demands to scrap about R10bn owed to 26 institutions...