Mbombela - Calm has returned to the Lowveld College of Agriculture in Mbombela where more than 100 students disrupted exams and barricaded the school's entrance on Wednesday.
The police had to fire rubber bullets to disperse the students, two of whom were slightly injured.
The students had embarked on a protest because they were unhappy with the college's management and the curriculum.
President of the Student Representative Council (SRC), Dumisani Mhlanga, said it had met with college management and officials from the provincial Department of Agriculture, Rural Development and Land Administration on Thursday.
"The situation has gone back to normal and exams will be continuing on Monday after we managed to reach an agreement with the management and department officials," said Mhlanga.
He said the students' grievances had been presented to management two weeks ago but ignored, which is why they had decided to protest.
"We are unhappy with a number of things. First there is the outdated curriculum. The third-year programme is ineffective, resulting in only 9 out of 50 students getting their diplomas during the graduation ceremony in March this year. The books in the library are also old and outdated, and accommodation and meals are too expensive for those of us who come from poor families," he said.
The department's acting spokesperson, Zanele Shabangu, said MEC Meshack Malinga was out of the country and would meet with the students when he returned.
"The MEC will be in his office on Monday, and we promised them to respond within two weeks because we have to investigate the allegations they made. We are happy that they have agreed to go back to their desks and continue with their exams," said Shabangu.
