Violent clashes between protesting students and private security personnel unfolded on Wednesday at the University of Limpopo over the non-payment of off campus allowances.
Limpopo police spokesman Brig Motlafela Mojapelo said police were deployed to the area after students started protesting in the afternoon and carried on into the evening.
Mojapelo said the infrastructure at the university’s Mankweng campus was damaged as the situation turned volatile, however, they were still waiting for a full report on the incident. Mojapelo said police were still on the scene by 20:00.
Video clips circulating on social media seem to reflect that parts of the university's building were torched. Other clips show rioting students running away.
Students started raising issues about the nonpayment of the off-campus allowance by National Student Financial Aid Scheme earlier in the year. In July there was another protest when students demanded for their allowance not to be paid into the accounts of landlords.
The students had also complained that the NFSAS allowance had not been paid for months, claiming they had been forced to use their food allowance to pay rent. One of the students, Hani Chepape, said the situation regarding allowance had not changed. Chepape said students decided to go on a protests after months of trying to get management to resolve the issues.
Another third year bachelor of science in computer sciences student said there was an announcement that R500 would also be cut from the R1500 food allowance for the coming three months. A 20-year-old student, who asked not to be named, said most of his peers come from poor families and that the allowance issues had caused a lot of frustrations.
He said the demonstrations were peaceful at first but turned violent when clashes broke out between the students and security officers.
“I can still hear rubber bullets from where I am. It is still bad and security has been beefed up. There are police everywhere,” the student said.
mahopoz@sowetan.co.za
Violent protest breaks out at University of Limpopo's main campus
Image: Twitter
Violent clashes between protesting students and private security personnel unfolded on Wednesday at the University of Limpopo over the non-payment of off campus allowances.
Limpopo police spokesman Brig Motlafela Mojapelo said police were deployed to the area after students started protesting in the afternoon and carried on into the evening.
Mojapelo said the infrastructure at the university’s Mankweng campus was damaged as the situation turned volatile, however, they were still waiting for a full report on the incident. Mojapelo said police were still on the scene by 20:00.
Video clips circulating on social media seem to reflect that parts of the university's building were torched. Other clips show rioting students running away.
Students started raising issues about the nonpayment of the off-campus allowance by National Student Financial Aid Scheme earlier in the year. In July there was another protest when students demanded for their allowance not to be paid into the accounts of landlords.
The students had also complained that the NFSAS allowance had not been paid for months, claiming they had been forced to use their food allowance to pay rent. One of the students, Hani Chepape, said the situation regarding allowance had not changed. Chepape said students decided to go on a protests after months of trying to get management to resolve the issues.
Another third year bachelor of science in computer sciences student said there was an announcement that R500 would also be cut from the R1500 food allowance for the coming three months. A 20-year-old student, who asked not to be named, said most of his peers come from poor families and that the allowance issues had caused a lot of frustrations.
He said the demonstrations were peaceful at first but turned violent when clashes broke out between the students and security officers.
“I can still hear rubber bullets from where I am. It is still bad and security has been beefed up. There are police everywhere,” the student said.
mahopoz@sowetan.co.za
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