East Cape Midlands College students will resume classes Wednesday 21 October after they reached an agreement with their management in a meeting held on Tuesday 20 October at the City Hall.
East Cape Midlands College students will resume classes Wednesday 21 October after they reached an agreement with their management in a meeting held on Tuesday 20 October at the City Hall.
About 70 students attended the meeting which follows four weeks of protest action over funding.
The students’ main grievance was that the institution had failed to pay over a portion of the students’ bursaries, which they needed to pay for accommodation.
The meeting was attended by the management of the institution, student leaders, representatives of the South African National Civic Organisation and officials from Makana Municipality.
South African Student Congress regional deputy chairperson Mpumelelo Makeleni described the agreement as an achievement, because the management had eventually signed the document containing their demands.
“The students who are owed by the institution will be paid, possibly before the end of October,” said Makeleni.
“All students will write their exams and nobody will be liable for any damages that occurred during the strike.
“That is what we agreed on with the management.
“If there is any lecturer that makes remarks to students about the strike, that student must immediately report that. That would be a breach of the memorandum of understanding that has been signed,” said Makeleni.
Another student who participated in the meeting, Mihle Tsuwa, emphasised that the strike had ended and students had to return to classes.
“Everything is back to normal now and we must remove that attitude of strike because we have agreed on the demands that we had with the management,” said Tsuwa.
The students said there are people who have been given a task to monitor the situation and ensure that what has been agreed on would be implemented.
In the memorandum it is stated that any student who behaves in a way that contradicts the agreements signed in the document will held liable and accountable for their actions.
Students and staff will also receive a workshop on the National Student Financial Aid Scheme policies, in an effort to bridge misunderstandings between the parties.
The matter of students who didn’t get accommodation money due to them would also be investigated and a report-back provided after the investigation.
EMC students will no longer take part in the shut down
In accordance with the memorandum of understanding, the EMC students would not participate in the national shutdown planned for tomorrow.
However, they thanked Rhodes students for their support and vowed to continue supporting them in their protest action.
