Student protests turn violent

LEPHALALE - Students of the Lephalale TVET College disrupted traffic flow in Nelson Mandela road by throwing stones at oncoming traffic and emptied dustbins into the street on Tuesday afternoon. Protests continued on Wednesday with students demanding the appointment of additional lecturers at the college.
Students told Northern News they believed that the college was understaffed. This forced some lecturers teaching multiple subjects to move class times to the afternoon to accommodate students. Students, however, insists on morning classes and a lecturer for each subject.
On Tuesday, police tried to enter the premises, but was unsuccessful, Police were locked out and were informed that the students entered the college premises and locked personnel in. Warrant officer Frans Mokoena says that the protesters refused members of the police access to the premises.
On Wednesday the protest continued. No official statement has been made by the Lephalale TVET College at the time of going to print.