FET students run riot
Elangeni College students closed down campus after their demands were not met.
POLICE had to intervene and disperse FET Elangeni College students with teargas during a tense situation in Bamboo Lane, Pinetown on Wednesday morning when students went on a strike.
The students closed the campus and demanded that the rector address them about their grievances.
Secretary of the central SRC, Sanelisiwe Mbeje, said they sent a memorandum with their grievances about three weeks ago.
In the memorandum, the students complained about pending results, which some students had been waiting for for years.
They also wanted management to look at the issue of practicals, in-service training, computer labs, WiFi, students’ residences and NSFAS bursaries, among other things.
Mbeje said the SRC members were called to a meeting last week and they did not reach an agreement with management.
“Their response did not answer our issues and the students were not happy when we informed them of the reason the rector had not arrived to address them. Police came and spoke to us and that is when the rector spoke to the students.”
Mbeje said they were not happy with the way the police handled the situation. “They sprayed us with teargas and some of the students were injured and taken to the clinic.”
She said 11 of the SRC members were arrested on Wednesday and later released.
