SOWETAN | Campus disruptions concerning

There was no teaching and learning at the Tshwane University of Technology’s main campus in Pretoria for most of last week as students protested over payment of allowances.

This was the second time this year that learning was disrupted at the university by student protests. In March it was over the demand that students who owed fees of R150,000 and less to the university be allowed to register.

The current protest is over the implementation of the new National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) direct payment system known as “eZaga”.  According to the new system, NSFAS will make direct payments into bank accounts using service providers instead of paying money to institutions of higher learning to pay to students.

The system, however, has been fraught with problems in other institutions leading to reports of monies allegedly going missing and claims of higher charges for transactions. While student protests are common at the start of every academic year, particularly over registration matters, it is unusual to witness such disruption of learning halfway through the year.

The protests serve to highlight the fragility of conditions in higher education as adversely impacted by social and economic factors. If indeed the claims that students are charged more for withdrawals are true, it reflects bigger economic issues in the country, including banking fees, interest rates and the higher cost of living.

But there is another dimension to the TUT protests that we ought not to lose sight of. It is a fact that students do not need to use violence to have their grievances heard. If protests are conducted in an orderly manner without destruction of property, we are all inclined to listen to the plight of the students.

Although the university has said it has no power to change the decisions of NSFAS, we applaud it for listening to the issues raised by students and showing willingness to engage within its powers.

We believe NSFAS holds the key in the speedy resolution of this ongoing stand-off at TUT and other institutions, over eZaga problems. We urge it to act with urgency and responsibility to safeguard the academic project by using the current protest as the beginning of the conversation that will bring a lasting solution to the issues students have raised.