The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Student Command says it is willing to fight if institutions of higher education do not allow walk-in registrations on Friday. This is despite many universities reiterating that no new applications would be accepted and no walk-ins allowed.
President of the EFF student command, Peter Keetse, launched their SizofundaNgenkani Campaign in Johannesburg on Thursday.
“SizofundaNgenkani campaign basically aims at getting as many students as possible inside the system because we all know very well historically-disadvantaged black youth have been systematically excluded because of the commodifying of this education. And this is the best opportunity for them to finally find expression within the higher education system and obviously, addressing the previous issue of debts.
“When we speak of debts we speak of those who can’t even graduate or view their results and if you can’t view those results you can’t get any kind of support. All debts must be scrapped and they must allow registration to be free.”
Keetse says it is under this campaign that they have extended a call to all former and prospective students who want to study to show up at the university of their choice tomorrow (Friday), where EFF representatives will be present to assist them with applications and registration.
“You have so many people who couldn’t apply on the specific and normal range of registration time. So, they didn’t apply at that time and therefore, we are offering them a second chance because the president obviously announced the free education after the official closing of the application. So, we will be allowing walk-ins. As student command, we will be walking in with them, in fact. But I think before then the universities will be engaged and if they are adamant of not allowing walk-ins then we have ways of making sure that we find ourselves inside the campuses.”
Wits University, however, says it has finalised its applications for the 2018 academic year, and having already received over 56 000 applications, will not be accepting any new ones.
Wits Registrar Carol Crosley is urging students who have not been accepted by universities to look for other options.
“We encourage students, matriculants to look at various options not just universities to look at TVET college, to look at private colleges. There are various options open to students. We would like to encourage students to look at the whole of the post schooling training sector for options to flow should they not be accepted at the university of their choice. We also recommend that they contact the Central Application Query because they are acting as the point of referral for the students who have not been accepted at the university of their choice.”
The University of Johannesburg (UJ) has, meanwhile, reminded prospective students that admission and registration processes will be done entirely online. It says this includes late application inquiries.
UJ says under no circumstances will it accept walk-in late application inquiries. But this has not deterred the EFF.
Keetse says they are not threatening the universities, but that if pushed, they are prepared to fight as their campaign name suggests.
“SizofundaNgenkani, in direct translation with your language, it means “we will study by force”. It doesn’t mean who says what, whether Bongo brings his dogs to the gates of the campuses or not. We are going to study and that is where we are focussing; nowhere else, but there!”
Keetse says they are fighting against more than just economic exclusion. He says many women have also faced exclusion from institutions of higher learning because of what he calls a patriarchal and capitalistic system that aims at making them maids, housewives, cashiers and receptionists, and that this must stop.
The EFF has also called for the reinstatement of suspended and expelled students who fought for free higher education.
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