“Are we children of a lesser God?” asked fuming firebrand South African Students Congress (SASCO) Gauteng Provincial Convener Thabo Nhlapo as he addressed enraged TVET college students outside the headquarters of the Department of Higher Education in Tshwane on Monday.
The students delivered a memorandum of grievances to the headquarters to highlight the shenanigans of the NSFAS and the negative impact it has on their lives as TVET students.
More than 300 students took part in the protest march that started at old Marabastad depot before proceeding to the Department of Higher Education offices.
Student organisations and political parties like MK Party Youth League, South African Students Congress, ANC Youth League, Congress of South African Students took part in the volatile march.
“Our task here is very simple; we are here to tell the Minister that he has seven days to resolve our issues or else you will feel the wrath of the students,” said Nhlapo.
He appealed to the Department of Higher Education employees to fight against NSFAS CEO Waseem Carrim as he advocates white supremacy.
“As parents and public servants you must fight against Carrim’s tendencies because your own children are also affected by the situation in we find ourselves as students,” said Nhlapo in reference to the Department of Higher Education employees.
“As TVET college students we don’t have transport to ferry us to campuses and we don’t have access to WiFi and the Minister doesn’t take care of the needs of the students and I am saying if the Minister wants to see the second coming of Fees Must Fall protests she must continue ignoring our plight,” he warned.
“Our fellow students are being defunded by NSFAS and others are being evicted by landlords from residencies and our enemy is the management of NSFAS, so if our objectives are not adhered to then we will come back and we will fight with our fists and stones,” said Reginald Khanye MKSM secretary of Pretoria campus.
“As Cosas we are saying we support SASCO and we are rallying behind them,” Tshwane Cosas Deputy Co-ordinator Basetsana.
Tshwane ANC Youth League Chairperson Piet Modiba said it can’t be normal that each and every year students have to complain about NSFAS.
“NSFAS money has been allocated for students to study and acquire a qualification so we are saying those that are handling the funds of the students must leave office and the administration of NSFAS must be put under the care of people who themselves used NSFAS funds during their days as students so that they can account for every cent and if the Minister can’t take a stance against culprits in the management of NSFAS then we as students are saying the Minister must vacate office with immediate effect,” said Modiba.
Meanwhile Rendani Nematswerani, who represents Tshwane accommodation providers, said his organisation has been writing letters to the Minister of Higher Education as well as NSFAS CEO Waseem Carrim for a long time now but it look those letters, in the form of emails, have not had an impact but are only being considered now because the students are now taking action.
“We are here to take care of you and we will make sure that no one is evicted with the financial issues with NSFAS,” he said.
Tshwane Talks readers have been able to read stories in this publication for free for over two years now. We still want our readers to access our stories for free, but we are asking those among our readers who can afford it to contribute at least R30 a month to cover some of the costs of publishing this independent, non-aligned online newspaper which gives a voice to all sectors of society irrespective of race, colour, creed, religion, or political affiliation. You may make your contribution by depositing at least R30 a month into Tshwane Talks' bank account. Details are as follows:
Bank Details
Bank: Standard Bank
Account Number: 10225548834
Account Type: Cheque Account