TVET college students want answers

Students say the nationwide protests over fees will continue for the third week.

They want the funding barriers that have denied many poor and missing-middle students a shot at a tertiary education to be removed.

Meanwhile, TVET college students say the fight for free education is not only a university struggle.

Protests in the Western Cape are expected to continue this week.

Some TVET students say they’re unable to study as they depend on funding from NSFAS to travel to campus.

Babalwa Ngxumza is a second-year hospitality student at Northlink College.

The aspiring chef from Khayelitsha says she is contemplating dropping out.

The 24-year-old, who lives by herself, doesn’t have money to study and also travel to campus.

Northlink College student Babalwa Ngxumza said, “those of us who were writing exams last year until 14 February are yet to receive funding. We then protested for February’s allowances to be paid in March as the institution had proposed. We now can’t go to college yet classes are continuing without us.”

Northlink College says it has been engaging with student representatives to resolve the matter but it also says not every student is guaranteed NSFAS funding.

Student Sandra Raubenheimer said, “even though we would send a list of 7,088 beneficiaries it doesn’t mean that NSFAS sends back an approved list of 7,088 beneficiaries. So, in that meeting at that point, we had not received an approved list yet.”

Activist Stephen Maciko says TVET students face the same struggle year after year.

Stephen Maciko said, “people focus only on universities they don’t focus on the problems at TVETs. At TVETs, a lot of things are happening even the powers of the SRCs are limited.”

A TVET college in Atlantis also shut down recently due to similar demonstrations. More protest action is expected this week as tertiary institutions continue to call for fees to fall.

Source: eNCA

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