Gatvol students shut down college!

THE closure of TVET colleges in Limpopo is increasingly becoming common.

This follows ongoing protests where angry students demand to be paid their Nsfas allowances and are disrupting learning and teaching activities.

The Sekhukhune TVET College in Motetema has suspended its National Certificate Vocational (NVC) and semester lessons until Wednesday, 3 April.

Students living in college hostels were also ordered to vacate the campus premises by noon on Friday, 15 March. 

This after students embarked on a violent protest and vandalised the college infrastructure and torched the guard room as they demanded to be paid their allowances.

The college has released a statement stating that some students will remain to write their assessments and final examinations.

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This is not the only college that has suspended lessons. The Mopani TVET College, Sir Val Duncan Campus in Namakgale, Phalaborwa also suspended its lessons until Wednesday, 3 April.

This after gatvol students vandalised buildings and burnt down a guard room, demanding their Nsfas allowances for accommodation. 

The college also released a statement saying that noted centres of specialisation and project classes will resume on Monday, 18 March.

Some of the students said they're frustrated by the ongoing protests happening every year due to allowances not being paid accordingly. 

Other students called for all TVET colleges across Limpopo to be closed until their grievances are met.

“We don’t want to receive allowances through the college, and we say no to disbursement of allowances according to lease agreement,” said another student.

With limited financial resources, many struggle to secure accommodation, leading to situations where students are forced to sleep on the streets.

“We use our allowances to pay for rent and when we don’t have the money, we get kicked out. Others end up dropping out,” another student said.