LECTURES have come to a standstill at the Giyani Further Education and Training College in Mopani, Limpopo.

This happened yesterday when disgruntled students demanded the immediate removal of management, including the principal known only as JJ Rikhotso.

The students barricaded the entrance to the premises and ran amok, complaining about corruption and lazy management.

The protest, which started on Thursday last week, saw students spending nearly a week away from lectures.

The students held placards, some of which said: "We want refunds or no classes" and "We demand new student support service" and "Management must start looking for new jobs because they were ineffective and inefficient".

Spokesperson for the students Nhlanhla Mokwele said the students protested on Thursday after management reneged on its promise to refund them.

He said they had demanded a refund of the money paid to the school for their bursaries since the beginning of the year but nothing has come out of that promise.

He said management agreed in principle to deduct money from the bursary of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme provided by the department to needy students and refund the difference but had failed .

Lecturers and Rikhotso were yesterday locked up in a meeting trying to come up with ways to defuse the tension.