South Africa: Police fire stun grenades, arrest 31 as students protest nationwide
According to reports, the prestigious University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg is the focal point of nationwide student protests against proposed hike in tuition fees.
Students are demanding free education and denounced government plans to raise tuition fees by up to 8% in 2017, BBC News is reporting.
The University of Bloemfontein and the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University shut down their campuses because of the protests. The University of Cape Town announced the suspension of classes.
At Witwatersrand, at least 200 students in “roving groups are moving from campus to campus disrupting classes”.
Protesters clashed with police who tried restoring calm.
Student representative said Nompendulo Mkatshwa police fired stun grenades at protesters who had gathered near the university to protest against the proposed fee increase.
“Students are not happy with what the Department of Higher Education and Training said, so they are fighting for equal education,” Ms Mkatshwa told Reuters.
Police reportedly arrested 31 students because, according to spokesman Lungelo Dlamini, they “were blocking the entrance of the university in contravention of the court order”.
As reported by BBC News:
Last year, South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma froze student fees for 2016 following the worst student protests to hit South Africa since minority rule ended more than 20 years ago.
The freeze has now been lifted, with Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande announcing on Monday that universities will be allowed to increase fees by a maximum of 8%.
Critics say this is higher than the 6% inflation rate, and will make university education unaffordable for many students.
However, universities favour an increase, saying they were facing a financial crisis which was damaging their academic programmes.
