Two student hopefuls have been hospitalised and several injured in a stampede at the Capricorn TVET college in Limpopo on Thursday morning.
According to recent tweets, a large number of students had gathered outside the campus building, waiting for the gates to open in order to register, when the stampede took place.
A tweet from the college on Sunday requested new students to return on Thursday for registration.
Disappointed first year hopefuls leaving the Capricorn TVET college in Seshego after being told to return on Thursday. They slept on the queue #sabcnews #2018Registrations pic.twitter.com/ZzV0kc0f2k
— Shibu Mamokgere (@shiburyder) January 8, 2018
Circumstances surrounding the stampede are unknown, however, it appears that students started queuing in the early hours of Thursday morning, with some having stayed overnight.
The queue along College Street extending into Magazyn Street of prospective 1st year students at Capricorn TVET, Polokwane Campus. Some say they have been here since midnight. pic.twitter.com/J9yOTaJll4
— BK Matewe (@bkmatewe) January 11, 2018
The long queues came after promises by the EFF Students Command (EFFSC) to assist students who defied university rules and arrived in person to register for 2018.
The EFF made the promise after President Jacob Zuma announced that free education would be rolled out to 90% of poor students across South Africa.
The party’s student command encouraged students to conduct “walk-ins”, because “the online application process usually takes time and has a lot of irregularities and cannot be trusted”.
However, several universities across South Africa have stated that they will not accept walk-in registrations for the 2018 academic year.
Registration is set to take place on Thursday and Friday at the college. — News24
