KwaZulu-Natal Education MEC Kwazi Mshengu says an agreement has been reached to end protest action at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN).
Mshengu is heading a task team that was set up after protests have hampered student registration since the start of the academic year.
He has met with the university management and students. Issues of historical debt and student accommodation were among those discussed.
More than 1 400 students on financial aid with historical debt will now be allowed to register. Mshengu says student accommodation will be dealt with after the registration process.
“We agreed on a number of things, which in our view meant that there was really no need for the students to continue with the strike. We pleaded with the students to suspend the strike. But at the centre of the challenge that was raised by the students was the historical debt were by the university was saying if you owe the university for the previous years and you have not paid now, we are not going to allow you to register. So it meant basically they will be excluded. During the discussion, we basically agreed that 1 425 students who are fully funded by financial aid this year should be allowed to register, therefore they will be cleared and allowed to register,” says Mshengu.
‘Blanket approach’
Meanwhile, a team has been put together to look at the merits of each case where students were not receiving financial aid in the past. Mshengu says this approach will see that they are not using one method to solve all the problems.
“Now what we agreed on is that we composed a small team that will deal with the details of that because we were trying to avoid a blanket approach to say everybody who is in that category and not funded will not be allowed to register. There are students who are in their final year and are left with 2 or 3 modules to complete and it will not make sense to exclude those students because at least they are on the verge of completing their degree and therefore standing a chance to be absorbed by the economy and then being able to pay the historical debt,” says Mshengu.
Violence on Campuses
The start of the academic year has been marred by violent student protests. Concerned parents of students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal have formed a crisis committee to deal with the worsening situation at the institution.
UKZN crisis committee chair, Bishop Rubin Phillip says they are concerned about safety and security, teaching, learning and research output at the university.
“In principle, the concern is that the University is not doing enough. It appears to bring about resolutions of the problems that are being faced at the university and it appears to us that the university authorities aren’t giving students a proper hearing and they appear to be making decisions without proper consultation.”
The violent protests in the University saw two vehicles been set alight on the Westville and Howard campuses in Durban. UKZN SRC member Khumzi Khumalo condemned the damage to property.
In the video below, SABC programme Expressions pre-recorded a special program that highlights the burning issues faced by University Students, especially during the registration period. The entire program was recorded on the field with an audience of University Students and other institutions of higher learning.
