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The Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training condemned the behaviour of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) led Student Representative Council (SRC) at the University of Venda who attempted to disrupt the oversight visit of the Committee on Tuesday.

The Chairperson of the Committee, Ms Connie September, said the disturbances will not deter the Committee from carrying out its constitutional mandated responsibility of monitoring and oversight.

The Committee was denied access to the accommodation at the University, as well as lecture rooms where it could have witnessed engineering excellence and the disability-friendly infrastructure. It was also unable to examine the technology challenges relating to registration and payment of fees.

The Committee acknowledged students’ right to peaceful demonstrations but pointed that in our country dialogue has proved to be the best approach to the challenges we all facing, said Ms September. “Our country is in need of much-needed skills and therefore we call upon the EFF students to return to class and bring the University back to the normality it previously enjoyed. We urge all parties to do everything possible to address the impasse. As a start we ask the Council to provide a platform to engage, as this option has not been explored,” she said.

Ms September also said the Committee was disappointed to learn that National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) funds could not be distributed in time. “The Committee will write to the Minister to conduct a national investigation into NSFAS disbursements of funds and processes. The Committee believes students should receive their funds on time and that accommodation-related challenges be attended to in order to enable student to continue with their academic year,” she said.

The Committee is on a week-long oversight visit to Limpopo where it seeks to, among other things, monitor infrastructure expansion programmes at universities, progress at technical vocational education and training (TVET) colleges, funding and accommodation challenges at tertiary institutions and ensuring that institutions of post-school education and training deliver much-needed education.

Issued by Parliamentary Communication Services on behalf of the Chairperson of the Committee, Ms Connie September