Sad! One shot dead during Wits protest

One person has been shot dead in Braamfontein allegedly by a police.

It is believed that the incident occurred in the early hours of today when police were trying to disperse Wit students who were protesting about student funding.

Wits University says that if it continues to accept students who have historical debt, the institution will become financially unsustainable.

The university says it is owed R1 billion in outstanding fees accumulated over the past seven years.

Wits University says it has made available R20 million for students who are facing financial hardship and R100 million has been allocated to financial aid through bursaries and scholarships.

Wits University spokesperson, Shirona Patel, says the so-called missing middle remains a challenge.

“These are students who have accumulated debt because they cannot pay and they do not quality for NSFAS. That accumulated debt over the years. If we continue to accept students with this historical debt it means that the university will become financially unsustainable.”

“We do not want to be bailed out by government. We want to be a financially sustainable organisation. Yes, we want to keep the doors open for as many people as possible but we do have limited resources. What this means is call on the private sector and public sector to support those students in tnhe missing middle,” explains Patel.