Students locked in talks with Fort Hare SRC over fees row

Students at the University of Fort Hare have been locked in a mass meeting with the university’s student representative council (SRC) since earlier this morning.

They are discussing a way forward after the fees announcement made recently by Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande. According to SRC deputy president Busisiwe Mashiqi, the students met “to give an indication on the way forward” after which the student leaders will meet with the university’s management this afternoon.

Mashiqi says after the second meeting they will inform the students of the institution’s response.

She says it will be at the second students meeting where they are going to decide whether to go on strike or not.

“The mass meeting is for us to interpret what the minister’s announcement means for the university’s student body,” she said

Fort Hare spokesman Lizo Phiti was not immediately available for comment.

Meanwhile, there have been no reported protests at Walter Sisulu University since the minister’s announcement that sparked protests at universities across the country.