SCORES of students have been left stranded with nowhere to go at the Capricorn TVET College, Seshego campus outside Polokwane.
The students were locked outside the campus hostel.
This comes after the college temporarily shut down three of its four campuses in Seshego, Senwabarwana and Polokwane, immediately following ongoing protests that disrupted teaching and learning activities.
The college released a statement ordering all hostel students within the Seshego and Polokwane campuses to vacate the college premises by 10am on Wednesday, 13 March.
Only the Ramokgopa campus in Botlokwa outside Polokwane remains open.
“The college will continue to closely monitor the situation before implementing any further steps to protect the lives of its staff and students, as well as to secure the property,” the statement read.
The closure comes as the students have been protesting due to shortage of Nsfas allowances. This after some students allegedly received half of the allowance while others didn't get anything at all.
The students have been protesting since Thursday, 7 March, demanding that their Nsfas allowances remain R3 400 and that the financial scheme pay outstanding balances for the 2022 and 2023 academic years.
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Students who live far from the college and don’t have money for transport to return to their homes were left stranded outside the campus with nowhere else to go.
The gatvol students said they have nowhere to go and don’t have accommodation.
“We rely on our allowances to pay rent and buy food. Other students are even considering dropping out because they are homeless and don’t have food,” said Joseph Pilusa (20).
A 21-year-old student said he needed over R1000 to be able to return home. “I’m broke and rely on my Nsfas allowance to survive. My parents are unemployed, so I don’t know how I will reach home. I’m from KZN and I’m stressed,” said the student.
Others are afraid that they may become victims of crime as criminals may target them because they have nowhere to go.
This is not the first time the students have embarked on a violent protest due to allowances. In March 2023, they embarked on a protest where they burnt the college’s infrastructure, including two cars, to voice their dissatisfaction.
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