Protesting students in S. Africa urged to return to class

South Africa's Alliance Secretariat, comprising of the Secretaries General of four political parties, on Sunday urged protesting students to return to class and complete the academic year.

This came after the African National Congress (ANC), the South African Communist Party (SACP), the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and South African National Civic Organisation (SANCO) convened a secretariat meeting over the weekend to deliberate, amongst other matters, on the current crisis in higher education.

In a statement, the Alliance voiced support for the legitimate struggle of students for free education, and reaffirmed its collective commitment to the progressive realization of this goal.

It urged the commission tasked to look into tuition fee increases to conclude its work speedily.

However, the Alliance is concerned about the long-term damaging impact that the closure of institutions of higher learning will have on students and society, said the statement.

"Should the academic year be postponed, some of the potential consequences (will) include matriculants not being accommodated during 2017 and a shortage of new graduates in fields such as medicine," the statement said.

"We urge therefore students to go back to class and to complete the academic year," the statement said. "The Alliance also urges students to protect their academic infrastructure and to desist from violence and destruction of public property."

Also on Sunday, student protests continued unabated nationwide. Sporadic clashes between students and police were reported in some universities.

The students have vowed to disrupt all academic activities if their demand for zero-percent fee increases for 2017 is not met.

Some universities have said they would suspend the academic year if the student protests continued. Endit