PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) – Thousands of South African university students converged Friday at the country’s main government complex to protest tuition increases and posing a serious challenge to President Jacob Zuma.
The students, some chanting and singing, gathered in throngs on a large lawn at the foot of the Union Buildings in South Africa’s administrative capital, Pretoria, on Friday. It was the largest demonstration in more than a week of protests against tuition increases planned for next year and among the biggest since South Africa rejected white minority rule in 1994.
Many students accuse the government of not doing enough to support university students and their families who are struggling to pay bills.
Zuma was scheduled to meet student leaders and university managers inside the Union Buildings on Friday. He and other leaders of the ruling African National Congress have said they are sympathetic to student concerns and welcome their protests, as long as they are peaceful.
A police helicopter flew overhead as some students pushed and pulled on a fence preventing them from getting closer to the government offices.