The SA Students Congress (Sasco) called for protests against the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), spokeswoman Willa de Ruyter said. The demand for money was bigger than the availability for funding. She said there were disruptions at the Pretoria campus on Wednesday morning as students were burning tyres outside the school gate. Management decided to close the gates and send the staff home, she said. Students who still need to register can make use of the TUT online registration system, De Ruyter said. Students Representative Council secretary general Sigfried Tivana said students decided to go on strike because they were frustrated. Massive exclusion of poor African working class students by the university left students with no option but to embark on a mass rolling action, Tivana said. The students were demanding access to NSFAS for all deserving and qualifying students. They also demanded an end to racism in Afrikaner-dominated faculties, re-admission of all academically excluded students, provision for adequate residential accommodation and salary cuts for all senior managers and directors.
Posted on: Wed, 29 Jan 2014 14:16:47 +0000