Mnambithi TVET College had a very bad start to the 2024 Academic Year. This is due to students not having a full grasp of the rationale for the increase in registration fees form R450,00 to a R1 000,00. The students’ leadership (SRC) were engaged on the matter in three different meetings in 2023. We acknowledge that they expressed their dissatisfaction at the time of engagements but the reasoning for the increase far outweighed their cries. Students that pay registration fees are the self-funded students and most of them are repeaters.

Upon re-opening of the College year 2024, the protests opposing the payment of R1000.00 started. The protesting students resulted in a lot of time being wasted which could mean the College cannot meet the deadlines for registration as required by Head Office.

College management resolved to going back to the drawing board and escalated the matter to College Council who advised that there be a re-think of the registration fees to R600.00 with a 40% increase in the following year.

The second matter they were contesting was the matter of Open Learning and the movement of not progressing students to Open Learning classes. This was contested because the students claimed they were not fully briefed on the actual meaning or implication of enrolling on this program as its operations are different from the “normal” programs in terms of class attendance. The College resolved on this program due to funding norms. Students that have not progressed are not funded. Maintaining them in main stream “eats up” resource funding for the new and progressed learners.

The third matter has to do with payment of R500.00 as an indemnity for students residing in hostels. The College introduced the indemnity payment as a means of controlling students’ behavior for breakages. Doors, door-handles and keys, kitchen cupboards, closet cupboards, plug points, light bulbs and window get broken almost every week. The indemnity payment shall assist the College to do minor repairs towards the students’ safety and maintenance of those minor repairs.