Police could still charge BCA students
Goitsemodimo Kaelo | Wednesday October 21, 2015 17:05
Riot police clashed with demonstrating students on Monday, with some of the learners reportedly assaulted, as the two week-old strike at the institution reached boiling point.
Students are demanding changes to their food system and are also angry at the state of hygiene in their ablutions.
Senior Superintendent, Godfrey Tlogelang, said while no arrests were made on Monday, charges were still a possibility.
“The students set fire to some dustbins and that is government property. We did not make arrests or prefer charges but we are waiting for the school to do its reconciliation report and we will advise accordingly,” said Tlogelang.
He denied reports that riot police had attacked students without warning, saying rather the learners were dispersed peacefully.
“I read the students the Public Order Act before we dispersed them so that they know where they were, it was an unlawful assembly because the school head had told them to go,” Tlogelang said.
Meanwhile, the college remains closed after Monday’s violence and the fate of the October 6 examinations remains unclear.
On Monday morning, the acting school principal and the police evacuated the students from the school.
The BCA student mass, led by the Student Representative Council (SRC), had engaged in a peaceful demonstration over what they said was the institution’s failure to address students’ welfare concerns.
The issues the students are not happy with include the tidiness of the ablution blocks, time management, the state of meals prepared at the refectory and failure by the college to market its graduates.
The students want their catering company to be replaced or their allowances to be credited into their accounts so that they choose where and what to eat.
On Monday, the Mmegi news crew found students roaming outside the college premises while others were already waiting for buses to take them home. Police were stationed at the school entrance evacuating those who were still around the gates.
SRC president, Mbinganyi Taka, told Mmegi that the decision to close the college had been taken by management unilaterally.
“The principal came with a squad of police officers to disperse students who had closed the gates in the morning, denying members of the staff entrance. The students had also burnt tyres and waste material at the college entrance,” he said.
Taka said management was yet to communicate when the college would reopen.
“Some of these students, especially those staying on campus, come from far and they have had to find a way to reach their homes without money and transport,” he said.
The college, which is currently transforming into a university, has about 575 on-campus students.
Numerous efforts to reach the college principal and other authorities failed as they were said to be locked in meetings.