South Africa Protests: Fees Must Fall Campaign Forces President Jacob Zuma To Withdraw Fee Hike Proposal (VIDEOS, TWEETS)

South African President Jacob Zuma on Friday announced that there will be zero increase of university tuition fees in 2016.

"On the matter at hand, there will be a zero increase of fees in 2016," he announced in a televised statement after meeting with student leaders at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, according to Citizen. WATCH Zuma's televised statement HERE.

The announcement came after 10 days of the Fee Must Fall (FMF) campaign across the country.

"Government understands the difficulty faced by students from poor households, and urges all affected to allow the process to unfold to find long-term solutions in order to ensure access to education," Zuma said, according to DW.

Zuma's announcement, however, failed to satisfy FMF student protesters, as some of them are demanding free education. A section of student leaders said they would continue with their protests.

Clashes between students and riot police broke out outside Union Buildings shortly after Zuma's announcement, according to Eye Witness News. Three students were injured as police fired rubber bullets, stun grenades and tear gas to disperse the crowd. WATCH footage of the protest HERE

Thousands of students from three Cape Town-based universities on Wednesday stormed the gate of the Parliament building in a bid to disrupt Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene's interim budget presentation, as HNGN reported previously. Riot police used stun grenades and tear gas to disperse the crowd.

The government had earlier proposed a nearly 12 percent hike in tuition fees for the next academic year. The proposal triggered a series of protests under the Fee Must Fall campaign across the country. The hashtags #FeesMustFall and #FeeHaveFallen are trending on Twitter.

Tags

South Africa, Cape Town, Parliament, Student