University of Limpopo students clashed with private security personnel over the non-payment of off-campus allowances on Wednesday. This led to violent protests and breakdown of order on campus.
Limpopo police spokesman Brig Motlafela Mojapelo said police were deployed to the area after students started protesting in the afternoon and carried on, into the evening.
Although a full report on the incident is yet to be made established, Mojapelo said the infrastructure at the university’s Mankweng campus was damaged as the situation turned volatile.
Video clips circulating on social media indicate that parts of the university’s building were torched. Other clips show rioting students running away.
Students started raising issues about the non-payment of the off-campus allowance by National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS)earlier in the year.
In July there was another protest when students demanded for their allowance not to be paid into the accounts of landlords.
The students had also complained that the NFSAS allowance had not been paid for months, claiming they had been forced to use their food allowance to pay rent.
Many students claimed they had been trying to management to resolve the issues for over seven months.
Sources said there was an announcement that R500 would also be cut from the R1500 food allowance for the coming three months. The source, who asked to be anonymous said the management’s position has made life unbearable for many indigent students.
She explained that the protests were peaceful at first but turned violent when clashes broke out between the students and security officers. And students were shot at with rubber bullets.
