Students expect KZN's SOPA to address funding issues
Funding for higher education is what some students in Durban say they want the KZN Premier to address when he delivers his State of the Province Address this week.
Senzo Mchunu is likely to focus on the province's economy and the drought but these students say their main concern is the plan to help them further their education.
"Many students have failed to pay with tertiary fees, we're looking at R30 000 a year, textbooks come to about R10 000 per semester so it's a bit high," one student said.
"Most of the students that come here pay cash for their studies, some of them had outstanding fees due that NSFAS cannot pay and support all of us," a final-year student said.
"We would like a practical way of what would they do with these students who were rejected by the NSFAS," said another.
" What I would really like it's for Senzo Mchunu to address is just the administration we deal with in universities," said a concerned student.
Also read: UKZN protest: Frustration after canceled lectures, closed libraries
The State of the Province Address takes place on Thursday at the Royal Showgrounds in Pietermaritzburg.
Meanwhile, student leaders at UKZN's Howard College campus in Durban have vowed to continue disrupting classes until the university's management comes up with a solution to workers' grievances.
Workers contracted to outside companies want the university to employ them directly so they can earn a decent living.
(Photo: Chanelle Lutchman)