The institution’s spokesperson, Dan Maritz, tells OFM News that the students are not exactly boycotting classes but they are merely adhering to a commitment taken by the Students’ Representative Council (SRC) and the management. He adds that they took a resolution that the institution will postpone all classes until such time that management has found a solution to the predicament faced by students who are relying on the aid scheme to fund their education.

Maritz says he is hopeful that a solution will be found soon and matters will return to normalcy.

Despite the meeting between student representatives and the Higher Education Minister, Naledi Pandor, earlier this month, protests are still continuing at some tertiary institutions. On Monday, seven students were arrested for public violence at the Mangosuthu University of Technology in KwaZulu-Natal.

Other university students also demonstrated by setting alight mattresses at the Durban University of Technology (DUT). They have mentioned accommodation and fees as some of their grievances. Since these protests erupted, one student passed away after being injured.

The NSFAS has been battling to put its house in order with students accusing it of fraud and corruption over the years.

A large contingent of students from impoverished households in South Africa banks its hopes on a financial bail-out from the aid scheme.

OFM News