Blade Nzimande’s Outbursts Toward Hayley Reichert About South African Students in Russia is Concerning

06 January 2023

In a statement by Minister of Higher Education, Blade Nzimande, about Hayley Reichert that her interview with ENCA is misleading and unfounded, that she is assisting students that are abandoned by the Mpumalanga Department of Education in Russia, is concerning.

In her quest to assist the students, Hayley got in touch with ActionSA Mpumalanga for assistance regarding the students that are stranded and the fees that are not being paid by the Department. To that end and together with Hayley, ActionSA has been in constant contact with the students that are stuck in Russia and some students are willing to come public and expose the misleading and lies by the Department of Education.

The bullying and arrogant tirade by Minister Blade Nzimande about Hayley will not succeed. The students being stranded in Russia should not have happened in the first place if we had a responsible, professional and caring government.

Hayley helped to expose the rot in the Department of Education, and she has been assisting South African students that were stuck in Ukraine during the beginning of the War with Russia.

Furthermore, the South African Government failed to absorb students that were studying in Ukraine into South African universities. The Minister has the audacity to lambast a patriotic South African who plays a critical role in assisting the needy students abroad.

About 41 medical, and 30 engineering graduates are frustrated sitting at home after completing their studies from Russian universities after being awarded bursaries by the Mpumalanga Department of Education.

The question to the Minister is: why after students have graduated were there no plans from the Department to integrate them into our healthcare system and the engineering sector?

ActionSA in collaboration with Hayley will continue exposing the rot in the Department of Education and will not be threatened by Minister Nzimande’s public outbursts. 

Statement issued by Thoko Mashiane, ActionSA Mpumalanga Provincial Chairperson, 6 January 2023