Busloads of South African students gathered in Pretoria on Friday, where their leaders will demand lower tuition during talks with President Jacob Zuma.
Throngs of university students nationwide protested all week to call for cancellation of a tuition increase set to go into effect next year.
Zuma is meeting student leaders and professors Friday in an effort to quell the growing protests.
“It is important that we work together to find solutions,” he said in a statement. “Nobody disagrees with the message that students from poor households are facing financial difficulties and possible exclusion.”
Nervous students awaited the talks at Union Buildings, the official seat of the government, where police and multiple armored personnel carriers stood.
Students are excited and nervous, said Pontsho Pilane, a leader at University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. She said buses packed with students traveled to Pretoria for the talks.
“We are worried about the police response,” she said.
Zuma said fees are determined by universities independently, but he’s looking forward to hearing the students’ concerns. ?
‘Honeymoon is over’
Throngs gathered Thursday outside the ruling party’s African National Congress office to present a list of demands.
“The honeymoon is over,” students said as they handed their conditions outside the office in Johannesburg.
The demands included scrapping fee increases. Initially, the tuition was to go up by 10%, but the government lowered it to 6%.
#FeesMustFall
Protests have raged since Monday, with demonstrators barricading entrances to campuses, including the University of Cape Town and University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.
More than a dozen universities are shut down because of the protests. Students are using the hashtag #FeesMustFall to rally on social media.
Lawmakers trapped
At the height of the protests, students stormed parliament in Cape Town on Wednesday, trapping lawmakers.
They pushed past guards and pried open gates. Once inside parliamentary grounds, they sat in front of the building to block lawmakers from getting out.
Students clashed with the police, whom they accused of using tear gas to disperse crowds.
The South African Police Service said it arrested six students for “illegal protests” in Cape Town.