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College student protests re-erupt in S. Africa

Xinhua, January 11, 2016 Adjust font size:

South African university student on Monday staged protests over "poor management", disrupting some major universities -- two months after a similar protest against a proposed increase in fees.

At Wits University in Johannesburg, the protest disrupted on-site registration, forcing the university management to urge students to register online.

Protesters also shut down the University of South Africa's Sunnyside Campus, expressing their dissatisfaction with management. They vowed to continue their protest until management agrees to do away with outsourcing and permanently employ workers on contracts.

The University of Pretoria also witnessed similar protests.

The protests raised fears similar protests would take place at other universities at a time when the new school year begins.

In October last year, the "Fees Must Fall" campaign gripped major universities across the country, prompting President Jacob Zuma to announce a moratorium on fee increases for 2016. It is said this will create a shortfall of 2.3 billion rand (about 139 million U.S. dollars) in funds for universities.

However, the National Treasury gave a mere 300 million rand (about 18 million dollars) to meet this shortfall.

Zuma has promised funding to be used to cancel outstanding student debts and to top up the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).

On Monday, Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande said the government had set aside 10 billion rand (about six billion dollars) for the NSFAS.

Another 6.9 billion rand (about 418 million dollars) will be committed to covering the funding shortfall facing the universities, Nzimande said.

And 2.5 billion rand (about 152 million dollars) would be spent on around 71,000 students already in the NSFAS system whose fees had not been paid or who had been underfunded for the past three years, he said.

A further 2.03 billion rand (about 125 million dollars) to help them complete their studies, he added.

Nzimade also urged student leaders to talk to the education authorities if they still have problems over university fees and funding. Endit