A blanket of tear gas covered the Oval Residence as protesters and police clashed at the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Westville campus on Monday afternoon.

Masked protesters lobbed stones and rocks at a line of police who protected themselves with their shields. Moments later police shot tear gas and rubber bullets at the students who used tables and ironing boards as protection.

Earlier in the day‚ dozens of female protesters stood outside the residence singing songs and carrying placards while male students looked on.

Female student leaders said they had taken the decision to protest on their own because security and police “didn’t target females“.

However the group was forced to withdraw when police informed them that their protest violated a court interdict preventing protest gatherings at any of the UKZN campuses.

Dozens of students who attended campus on Monday expecting to write tests‚ vented their frustration after finding empty venues which confirmed that tests had been postponed yet again. — TMG Digital