Student activist, Moeketsi Moeketsi, says the recess decision of the university is an irresponsible act as students may be exposed to Covid-19 as they head back home, contrary to what management thinks. He says it’s surprising that the university has chosen to mention the spread of Covid-19 as one of the reasons for the early recess whilst management failed to swiftly act when they raised the effects it had on students at the university. 

Moeketsi says the decision by management to suspend classes is to demoralise students from protesting against allowances, the suspension of student leader Moses Ntonyane, and the disbandment of the EFF Student Command (EFFSC).

Meanwhile, CUT spokesperson, Dan Maritz, told OFM News that to date 10 306 students’ allowances were paid through FUNDI.

“I think they want to do that to contain the situation so that, when we come back, the situation would have [cooled down], So, I think that is why they decided to say we are going to an early recess. If they were genuine they could have suspended classes earlier on because as students we have been calling for the suspension of classes for a very long time. It's only now that they want to suspend the academics because of the instability at the institution,” he adds.

Meanwhile, the EFF SC declined an interview with OFM News. They allege that they are being misquoted. OFM News earlier reported that the previous Central University of Technology (CUT) protest, led by the EFF Student Command (EFF-SC) at the Bloemfontein campus, was riddled with divisions among student formations.

Scores of students on Tuesday gathered outside the main gate under the watch of the police, who maintain their presence at the protest at the Bloemfontein-based campus since Sunday evening.

On Tuesday, Maritz said “CUT understands the plight of students, however, while we work to ensure they have received their allowances, their assistance is needed as some students’ details are not correct or complete. Students need to ensure that the university has their correct details, including banking details”. He condemns what he described as intentional misinformation on social media and further said this was a malicious attempt to confuse the higher education sector and communities in the region, as well as to discredit the university’s genuine attempt to provide its students with a quality higher education.

OFM News