National library closed temporary due to student protests

"The NLSA's Pretoria campus remains closed due to the protest action which directly threatened the Library, its collections and library users in the past week," the national library told newsmen on Monday.

"The NLSA's assessment of the situation is that we cannot risk opening the Library under the current situation.

"We will continue to monitor the situation and will communicate any change of decision, should we be convinced that the threat of damage to the Library has been averted," Professor Rocky Ralebipi-Simela said.

"While the NLSA respects the right to protest it has condemned acts of violence, when the libraries and institutions of higher learning go up in flames, the knowledge meant to be preserved for posterity is destroyed," the professor added.

Student protests that started a month ago continue unabated across the country’s universities as thousands abandoned classes calling for free higher education

Some weeks back, the students touched some libraries during protests forcing some public and school libraries to shut down.

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