TUT students shut down Soshanguve campuses

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Pretoria - Hundreds of Tshwane University of Technology students have shut down academic proceedings again at the institution's Soshanguve North and South campuses this morning. The students carrying sticks left a burning tyre at the main gate of the north campus and marched to he south campus surrounded by numerous police vehicles deployed to maintain order. The shutdown is a result of students' disapproval of TUT's new bus schedule and insufficient accommodation for students who needed places to live. The march has brought traffic to a standstill on Aubrey Matlala Street. The street connects the two campuses and is now flooded with unhappy students. The march is led by united student representative bodies such as the EFF Student Command, Sasco, DA Student Organisation and the Pan-African Student Movement.

The students said they had a meeting with TUT last week when they staged the first shutdown to raise their demands but TUT has not given them a response as per the agreement.

EFFSC Deputy Chairperson Myza Baloi said the students were united to make TUT see that their issues could not be pushed under the carpet anymore.

Student leadership told the crowd that there were young first year students who slept in a nearby stadium whereas the institution has a residence that has been under construction for a long time.

The incomplete residence on campus that students are threatening to occupy. Picture: James Mahlokwane

Leadership said the students were going to occupy the residence without permission without causing any violence or destruction of property.

Sasco President Ketlego Makgobole said the institution has failed to implement solutions but it continued to make promises that it would address the issues.

"The residence will be occupied today by students who are tired of waiting for it to be completed. It has been under construction since 2013 while students found themselves sharing backrooms.

"Students also wants TUT Nsfas to pay all the fees of last year's students because unpaid fees meant they could not register to continue studies and those who completed would not graduate.

"The issue of the new bus schedule is also a problem. Students arrive late to classes because buses travelled at two and three hours intervals. Arriving late to classes will affect performance and that is not acceptable," he said.

Pretoria News