Protesting Umfolozi TVET College students shut down several campuses
Protesting Umfolozi TVET College students have shut down five of the institution’s campuses.
They claim service providers, including security guards, cleaners, and cooks, have not been paid for about eight months and are no longer servicing the institution.
On Friday morning, students blocked entrances to the Esikhawini campus to prevent Public Works Minister Sihle Zikalala from holding a district development model outreach programme event.
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Students have been protesting for a week.
They have vowed to march to the institution's central offices in Richards Bay on Monday.
Student Representative Council deputy secretary Sanele Mvelase says the situation is dire.
He says students are starving at residences and are writing tests and exams without textbooks.
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"We have a crisis from central which is led by central management. They are failing to pay service providers. If you can visit the campus, there is a lot of grass, the campus is dirty, sewage is floating, and students have to pass it, yet our NSFAS is paying.
"Our TVET [College] doesn’t have papers, textbooks, there is a shortage of lecturers, and we have been sending memorandums to central management."
The college has been approached for comment.
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