Boycott over allowances

STUDENTS at a Cape Town FET college are boycotting lectures after management allegedly refused to hand over transport money owed to them.

On Tuesday about 200 students marched on False Bay College in Khayelitsha, throwing stones. They smashed windows and scattered rubbish on campus.

Students say False Bay College receives R600 a month for each student registered on the National Student Financial Aid scheme as a transport subsidy but was only handing over about R300 per student.

When Sowetan visited the campus yesterday it was deserted.

A security guard confirmed that there were no classes.

SA Student Congress provincial chairman Sello Nkhatho confirmed that students at the college were boycotting classes over the transport allowance.

Nkhatho said the problem had also affected other False Bay FET Colleges in Mitchells Plain and Muizenberg.

Nkhatho said he was told by students that they would only return to classes once they had received their monies.

"We are calling on the Department of Higher Education and Training to address the dispute as a matter of urgency."

Early this week the students, led by Sasco leadership, marched and handed over a memorandum to the department's offices in the CBD.

Yesterday Sasco met student representatives from the campuses to chart a way forward.

A 22-year-old student, who asked not to be named for fear of intimidation, said he was not happy about the situation and called on management to resolve the problem.

The student, who studies for N6 business management, is a beneficiary of the National Student Financial Aid scheme.

"Although we decided to take action last Tuesday, we have been demanding our transport money since the start of the academic year," he said.

He warned that the situation would affect their preparations for mid-year exams which start today.

Spokeswoman for False Bay FET College, Colleen Bennon, said the dispute was an extension of a nationwide unrest of students at many FET Colleges relating to the administration of the Bursary Scheme and in particular, the disbursement of the transport allowance.

The Department of Higher Education and Training distributed the guidelines for the administration and management of the FET Colleges Bursary Scheme managed by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme.

"The furore was created because the guidelines had not provided specific rules for the allocations of the transport allowance but recommended maximum amounts without clarifying the criteria of the award."

However, the circular clearly stated that the amounts awarded for travel might vary from one student to another.

"In making a final determination on the award for transport allowance, the financial aid committee must consider the distance travelled by students to get to the college and the actual transport cost."

Bennon also said the actual transport allowance that would be awarded to each student was likely to vary and might be less than the R6000 earmarked as the absolute maximum that a college could award for travel.