/ 20 May 1999

‘HUNGER STRIKE’ OVER FOOD

MORE than 200 students at a teachers’ college in Mpumalanga have gone on hunger strike – because they say they are not getting enough food. Boarders at Mgwenya College of Education near Nelspruit complained when only half of them were given breakfast on Tuesday morning. And when only the boarders received lunch, all students decided to boycott dinner on Tuesday night but they did not tell the authorities. They lined up for dinner, but when the catering company started serving the food, it was thrown at the chefs by the angry students. Then the students broke into the campus kitchen, where they shared the food found there, and broke a security door. On Wednesday morning the students refused to take breakfast, and forced the college management into an urgent meeting to discuss the issue.