Calm has been restored in central Pretoria by Wednesday afternoon after student violence erupted in the morning.
#FeesMustFall protesters took to the streets and set fire to tyres, pallets and other material they could lay their hands on.
Tshwane University Technology students moved into the city to shut down private colleges and forced learners to leave school in the Pretoria CBD as the #FeesMustFall protest intensified.
Some students looted fruit from street vendors.
Police warned the students to disperse before firing rubber bullets and arresting scores of them.
Student leader Thabo wa Afrika said students would continue the fight for free education.
“Students are clear on their call. Nothing will deter us. We want government to provide free education for all. That’s the demand,” Mo Afrika said .
Students vowed to march to the office of Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande to press for no tertiary fee rises next year.
“We will be marching to Blade because it doesn’t seem as though he’s even prepared to go to the president and table our demands,” said Wa Afrika.
“What we demand is free, decolonised education. The current education system has to be overhauled.”
By late afternoon, quiet had been returned to the city centre and traffic on major roads was flowing freely again.
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TUT students stand up against burning campus
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