Students at University of Pretoria meet over fees
Students at the University of Pretoria have made it clear that they will not accept any fee increases at tertiary educations in 2017.
A mass meeting was held on Monday morning to discuss the possible fee increment of between 6 and 8 percent for the 2017 academic year.
Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande last week postponed the announcement on fees, saying he needed more time for consultations.
The university's Secretary General of the Student Representative Council (SRC), Donovan du Plooy, said they met to engage with students to get a mandate moving forward.
"Students drew the line, they were very clear on what they wanted. We collectively resolved that we will not, under any circumstances, accept a fee increment. If that is the case, we will be shutting down not only this university, but we will be working with our comrades from other institutions to shut down Tshwane, to shut down the province," Du Plooy said.
He said last year was just the beginning.
"Last year we targeted the likes of the Union Buildings and Parliament. This year we shut down the economy of this province, of this country. We will target highways," he said.
Du Plooy said they will wait for an announcement before embarking on any protest action.
"We are not going to protest up until we get an answer. It would be premature of us right now to shut down the institution. At the end of the day we are all students and we all still want to get our education. That is our priority," he said.