Department of Higher Education Issued with a Deadline To Respond

(The Post News)- The Minister of Higher Education, Dr Nobuhle Nkabane, has been given seven days to respond to the demand manifesto documented by the South African Student Congress (SASCO) following the “Mega Total Shutdown” protest that took place on May 19th in Pretoria.
https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/sasco-in-tshwane-give-minister-deadline-to-respond-to-demands/

The “Mega Total Shutdown” march to the Department of Higher Education and Training took place due to students’ grievances regarding NSFAS defunding them, and delaying their housing and meal stipends. As a result of delayed payments, private accommodations have threatened to kick students out.

Vhukhudo Nekhavhambe, the Gauteng coordinator for SASCO, called Minister Nkabane out for being ‘missing in action’ and demands that she ‘act with urgency’, which includes settling overdue payments for accommodation contractors. Nekhavhambe states that due to the Minister’s silence, along with the suffering of students who are hungry, they have decided to show up to her ‘backyard office’.
https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/sasco-in-tshwane-give-minister-deadline-to-respond-to-demands/

Supported by the Student Representative Council (SRC) Treasurer of Tshwane University of Technology, Talifhani Tshithavhana has warned the Minister that there would be disruptions at universities and colleges if the government fails to meet the given seven-day deadline.
https://www.power987.co.za/featured/sasco-gives-higher-education-department-seven-days-to-respond-to-demands/

Tshithavhana asserts that he sees no justification as to why any academic activities should be maintained when students are dizzy as a result of having ‘nothing in their stomachs’, yet they are expected to ‘focus’ and ‘write’.

Blessing Methibe, the Chairperson of the Young Communist League of South Africa (YCLSA), has also expressed concerns about possible corruption within the NSFAS offices. She pleads with Minister Nkabane to look into the possibility of ‘ghost students’ in colleges where NSFAS paid money ‘directly into the students’ pockets’.
https://www.power987.co.za/featured/sasco-gives-higher-education-department-seven-days-to-respond-to-demands/