Higher education and training minister Blade Nzimande has made an impassioned plea to protesting students to remain calm and to use available channels to raise grievances instead of talking to the streets.
The minister warned that SA could not afford further disruptions, as the start of 2021 academic year had already grappled with various challenges.
His comments came as the fallout continued over the death of Mthokozisi Ntumba, a 35-year-old man who had just left a clinic near Wits University in Johannesburg on Wednesday when he was shot by police near the scene of a student protest. A number of students were injured and some arrested.
The killing rocked SA, and was condemned by President Cyril Ramaphosa, who on Thursday expressed his concern at the police’s heavy-handed response to the protests.
“Mthokozisi Ntumba was an innocent bystander and indeed even the students, much as they were protesting, the way I saw it on television, did not warrant the type of resistance and push from the police,” said Ramaphosa.
He added: “This disturbed me deeply because it demonstrated that while our people demonstrated peacefully, there was overreach from the police. While this matter is being investigated by the relevant bodies, those who acted beyond what they were meant to should be dealt with in accordance with our law.”
Police minister Bheki Cele was also critical of the officers’ handling of the situation.
Mthokozisi Ntumba was an innocent bystander and indeed even the students, much as they were protesting, the way I saw it on television, did not warrant the type of resistance and push from the police.
— President Cyril Ramaphosa
While visiting Ntumba’s home in Kempton Park, east of Johannesburg, on Thursday, Cele said it was “difficult to defend” the allegations that police were heavy-handed, particularly that officers used excessive force when dispersing black protesters as opposed to white protesters.
“That question has been coming and it has been slowly becoming difficult to defend it,” he said.
He added: “I can’t explain it. It’s something that has no grain of explanation and defence. Somebody just went crazy.”
Ntumba leaves behind four young children and a wife struggling to cope with their loss. He had recently obtained a master’s degree and worked as a human settlements planner at the City of Tshwane. His youngest child is not even a year old.
“It is a sad situation and something that you can’t live with as a human being,” said Cele after the visit.
Meanwhile, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on Thursday that all three dockets relating to the arrests of seven students would not be prosecuted due to insufficient evidence.
“I can confirm we received three dockets, one with five suspects charged for public violence and two with individual suspects — one charged for malicious injury to property and one charged with public violence,” said NPA spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane.
She said the docket of the individual charged with malicious injury to property was referred back to the police for further investigation.
“Once those investigations are concluded, the docket will be brought back to the NPA and only then can the NPA make a decision on whether to prosecute.”
As pressure mounted on government to deal with the situation, cabinet confirmed on Thursday that the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) had been given the urgent go-ahead to release funds to first-time qualifying students so they can enrol for higher education. They were previously unable to do so due to funding shortfalls.
Acting minister in the presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni announced that the government had decided to allocate additional funding to NSFAS.
The government would now spend R42.1bn on the scheme this year, up by nearly R7bn from the budget of nearly R35bn in 2020 — which was already more than the R32bn of the year before. NSFAS funded 700,000 students in 2020.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Nzimande said it was vital that the 2021 year got off as smoothly as possible.
“I would like to appeal for calm at our institutions of higher learning. Where there are matters of dispute and grievances, structures are in place for SRCs and institutional management to engage on. And I urge that student leaders and institutional leaders make use of these mechanisms to resolve problems amicably.
“We cannot afford at this time to endure disruption to the 2021 academic year, which is already starting later than usual due to the extended 2020 academic year and the delayed NSC examinations,” said Nzimande.
He described the 2020 academic year as difficult and challenging for everyone. As students and staff had to adjust to remote forms of teaching and learning, and institutions had to manage the academic year during different phases of the lockdown.
Nzimande was addressing members of the media after a cabinet decision to allocate the additional R7bn to NSFAS.
“I acknowledge that this period has been stressful for many prospective students wishing to enter post-school institutions as well as for their families. I appeal to institutions and NSFAS to ensure that this process is completed as smoothly as possible,” he said.
The Braamfontein students had taken to the streets under the banner #asinamali (“we do not have money”), protesting against the financial exclusion of students with historical debt, and for registration processes to be halted to accommodate those waiting for NSFAS funding approval.
Nzimande admitted that the problems extended beyond Wits. He confirmed he received a letter containing students’ grievances from across SA. He did not, however, state when he would respond to them.
I hope that today we have provided some assurance of the commitment of our government to addressing the funding needs of students from poor and working-class backgrounds in our higher education system.
— Higher education and traing minister Blade Nzimande
“I acknowledge that yesterday I received communication from the SA Union of Students (SAUS), which represents all public university SRCs, outlining a number of students’ demands. I will respond to this communication as soon as I am able to do so.
“Now that the issue of the funding shortfall has been addressed, we will be able to finalise the funding NSFAS bursary guidelines for university students. These will be finalised within the next week and released to institutions as soon as possible. It should be noted that the changes are being kept to a minimum, in order not to affect the administration of the DHET [department of higher education and training] bursary scheme in public institutions,” he said.
The minister also moved to provide clarity on the “core parameters of the NSFAS funding policy” for 2021.
He said NSFAS funding was provided primarily for students completing a first undergraduate qualification. In the past, however, NSFAS has provided funding for some limited second qualifications in key areas.
The minister said students who are already funded by these programmes will be able to continue provided they met the academic criteria. However, there would be no funding available for new entrants on second or postgraduate qualifications, as the latter is the responsibility of the National Research Foundation (NRF).
Nzimande added he was hopeful that the 2021 academic year would be fruitful after the cabinet’s decision.
“I hope that we have provided some assurance of the commitment of our government to addressing the funding needs of students from poor and working-class backgrounds in our higher education system, albeit under extreme difficult fiscal conditions,” he said.
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