Student protest shuts down Gamalakhe Tvet
Police have been on scene to address the students.
The Economic Freedom Fighters’ Student Command Council (EFFSC) at Gamalakhe TVET College has blocked the main entrance to the campus following the suspension of its chairman, Katleho ‘KAT’ Makhetha.
The exact charges are still not known, despite requests for this information.
Attempts to get comments on the matter from both the Tvet college and the Department of Higher Education and training (DHET) have been made, however, no response has been received.
On Wednesday morning the Gamalakhe Community Forum and Gamalakhe SAPS were deployed to the campus to calm the situation, ensuring that the protest does not escalate.
Students who are supposed to writing tests and attend classes are not being allowed to enter the campus.
According to the Gamalakhe TVET College students’ Facebook page, the issue began when the college allegedly did not allow students to re-write examinations, and allegedly failed to register students receiving a bursary allowance as well as those with pending verifications.
Makhetha felt this was unfair and demanded answers from campus management as to why this was happening.
As a result, he was suspended, he claims.
Makhetha said this morning that he was served with a letter of suspension on Thursday, March 2, which stated he had been suspended from all college activities on pending misconduct charges against him.
However, he says the exact charges were not listed.
“I was not given a warning before the suspension, and I feel that my suspension is political. When I was called to the meeting whereby the letter was handed to me, it was attended by just two members of the SRC meaning that the quorum to sit with college management was not met and there was no record of the charges against me,” he explained.
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