Before the start of the 2023 academic year, students around the country would have anticipated moving into accommodation facilities and attending lectures at institutions of higher learning. Students at several universities have not been able to do this, which has sparked protests.
The University of Witwatersrand (Wits) moved to a blended learning and teaching environment as protests rocked the university. Protesting Wits students are demanding accommodation and an end to financial exclusion.
The university revealed that students marched to the property of the institution’s vice-chancellor's home and allegedly threatened to set it alight.
Wits suspended Student Representative Council president Aphiwe Mnyamana. The university explained that Mnyamana failed to appear at a suspension hearing despite being allowed to make representations at the hearing.
The SRC said the suspension shows the university is trying to silence them to prevent the SRC from raining just and fair issues concerning accommodation and registration at the institution.
Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande met with various stakeholders this week to discuss the matter of concern raised by students at some universities.
It was recommended that institutions urgently convene meetings through forums such as the Institutional Forums and with the leadership of the students, to deal with all outstanding registration challenges.
The minister strongly condemned instances where student protests turned violent and described them as wholly unacceptable and argued they did provide solutions to the concerns raised by students.
Minister Nzimande urges all students to return to class in order to enable the commencement of the academic year without any disruptions.
Nzimande said they were pleased that institutions have started with teaching and learning whilst dealing with matters of concern to students.
This includes ensuring that students from working class and poor families, and those who meet the academic requirements are not excluded.
The South African Union of Students (SAUS) accused various stakeholders of failing to uphold agreements. This comes after they met with the Department of Higher Education, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas) and other stakeholders concerning the plight of students before the protests.
These stakeholder engagements were aimed at identifying challenges students may face while coming up with possible solutions to address them.
