EFF students in march on Ikhala
ASECURITY guard was left with a bloodied nose when Ikhala TVET College Student Representative Council (SRC) members were pelted with stones – allegedly by fellow students – while entering the premises during protest action Monday.
The stones, however, missed the SRC members and struck a security guard in the face.
The protest by the EFF Students Command (EFFSC) prevented some of the students from writing exams.
The Command chairman: Sinethemba Lamani said the protest was sparked by the college management’s refusal to allow the students to voice their grievances.
“We have been trying to communicate with the management team but they said they do not speak to political organisations, but only dealt with students. We attempted to speak to them as students and were told we had to meet with the SRC.”
Lamani said central to the complaints however was the SRC, which it claimed was not dealing with their grievances – or holding meetings.
The students also believed that their National Student Financial Aid Scheme ( NSFAS) was being mismanaged by the institution. “NSFAS gives us R43 000 per student of which R12 000 is allocated for college fees. “We get R3 000 as change but we do not know what happens to R20 000.”
There were questions that the students needed to have answered, he said.
He said also that some students had allegedly been forced to repeat a year because their examination papers could not be found.
“We get told that we are failing and not performing well, while it is the lecturers who mishandle our papers. We are demanding that we meet with management.
“We want the SRC to step down.”
Ikhala principal Ntozelizwe Tom said: “I have taken note of the memorandum of the EFF Student Command. “We sat down with the leadership and agreed to meet with them on Tuesday.
“I wish to assure the public that we have looked through the issues raised by the political formation. We will send a report to EFFSC as per the resolution.”