A 21-year-old man was arrested in Heiderand, Mossel Bay, today, following a student protest over claims of decreased accommodation funding by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).

According to Mossel Bay Advertiser, about 50 students gathered outside the entrance of South Cape College in Kreupelhout Street, alleging that their NSFAS accommodation allowance would decrease from R42 640 per annum to about R25 000 per annum.

Several students told the newspaper that police fired rubber bullets and stun grenades at them when they tried to cross Louis Fourie Road to head home at about 12:00.

Local police spokesperson Sergeant Chris Spies says officers used stun grenades to disperse the group.

He adds a public violence docket was opened ‘after unrest erupted’.

Spies notes: “Reports available suggest that police were dispatched to the scene at about 06:00. Reinforcements from the Public Order Policing (POP) Unit were later deployed to the area.”

He adds that the 21-year-old was arrested ‘on charges in terms of road traffic legislation’ and would appear in court once charged.

“POP members will remain in the area until the situation is stabilised,” he says.

Follow-up questions were sent to the police regarding the use of stun grenades and claims by students that they were crossing the road when they were fired upon.

The police reiterated their initial statement on the stun grenades.

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