Officials at Rhodes
University, the University of Cape Town (UCT) and the University of the
Witwatersrand (Wits) announced classes were suspended due to the wave of
protests.
Thousands of students have
attended rallies against the fee hikes during months of growing campus
activism.
Student protests halted
teaching at three of South Africa’s top universities on Monday as demonstrations
spread against fee increases that many say will force poor black students
further out of the education system.
“We are merely fighting for
education,” said Nompendulo Mkhatshwa, students’ leader at Wits university in
Johannesburg.
“We are fighting to open
the doors, so that every black child… can have a chance to play a role in
developing the economy of this country.”
Protesting students at the
university have blockaded entrances in recent days, demanding that the proposed
10.5 percent fee increase for 2016 be scrapped.
Tuition fees at Wits range
from 29,620 rand ($2,233, 1,972 euros) per year for a Bachelor of Arts degree
and 58,140 rand per year for a medicine degree, excluding accommodation and
textbooks.
A late-night meeting on
Saturday between students and university officials led to a suspension of any
decision on the fees while negotiations are held.
The university said it
would remain closed on Tuesday “due to the ongoing protests”.
University heads maintain
that the fees hike is necessary to provide quality education.
Teaching at UCT, Africa’s
top-ranked university, also came to a halt, with management describing the
disruption of classes by protesting students as unlawful.
Students at UCT earlier
this year led a high-profile and successful campaign for the removal of a
statue of British imperialist Cecil John Rhodes from the campus.
Protests have been held
regularly at several South African universities targeting the limited racial
transformation of education since the end of racist white-minority rule, which
was eventually overthrown with Nelson Mandela’s election in 1994.
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