No funding, no academic calendar – UP students
UP students embarked in a march to the Department of Higher Education and Training on Thursday, demanding the government to make money available for NSFAS beneficiaries.
A group of more than 50 University of Pretoria (UP) students on Thursday marched to the Department of Higher Education and Training in Pretoria to protest against financial exclusion.
Led by the UP Student Representative Council (SRC), the protesters demanded, among other things, the postponement of the academic calendar until the government finds the money to support disadvantaged students.
The protest comes after higher education minister Blade Nzimande recently announced the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) had no available budget to commit to funding new students.
The minister said returning student beneficiaries, who met the academic and other relevant criteria for continuing their studies, would still be funded.
“This statement is a clear indication of the mistreatment of the student body in the entire country, as well as in our institution,” UP SRC president Lerato Ndlovu, said.
“We have NSFAS students who still to this day are not registered.”
She described Nzimande’s statement as “lousy and also very problematic”.
“The statement seems to suggest the government is attempting to deprive young people of education.”
She said the purpose of their march was to address students’ matters related to student funding in a bid to solve the financial exclusion problem.
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