Tyres burn at Westcol as students fume

The scenes of tyres burning and students singing and chanting at Westcol College were a clear indication that, like so many other places of education, all was not well at the Carletonville campus on Wednesday, 11 May. The students had gathered and were waiting upon the principal to offer solutions to various matters that they had raised. One of them was the issue of NSFAS bursaries that are supposed to include money for transportation and accommodation that, the students say, they did not receive. Some students stay far from the campus and struggle to get to the campus because of insufficient funds. Students are also not happy with the 80 per cent attendance requirement to be able to write exams.

The principal, Mr Louis Coetzer told the students that the chief director: Examinations had notified him and the SRC chairperson that the Department of Higher Education and Training had implemented both this requirement and the requirement that students must attain at least 40 per cent to be able to write their exams. The next day, Thursday 12 May, the students heard that they would be receiving the money for transportation and accommodation from NSFAS and that some of the students had already received the funds. The 80 per cent attendance requirement was dropped to 60 per cent.