The Students’ Representative Council (SRC) denied claims that University of Witwatersrand students wanted to burn down the vice-chancellor’s house on Sunday night.
Students began protesting on Wednesday because they could not register for the new academic year because they had university debts or could not secure accommodation at home because they could not pay the deposit.
The SRC is demanding that all students who enrolled in 2022 and are academically eligible to return to Wits should be allowed to enroll for the 2023 academic year – including part-time and occasional students.
Furthermore, SRC wants National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) students in off-campus accommodation not to have to pay a deposit. The balance of accommodation costs and all accredited buildings must provide for NSFAS funded students at scheme rates.
This comes after NSFAS this year introduced a new policy to cap student accommodation allowances at R45 000 a year.
SRC said in a statement that they have decided to march peacefully to the house of the vice chancellor Zeblon Vilakazi, seeking to be addressed by him on the request submitted by the SRC on behalf of the students.
“It is a misinformation that students mean harm, threats or violence when students walk to the vice-chancellor’s residence peacefully and are accompanied by campus security for safety reasons,” SRC said in a statement.
“According to the norm, the vice chancellor arrogantly still does not appear to deal with the mass of students outside the house.”
In response, Wits spokeswoman Shirona Patel said the university was managing the situation as best it could, adding that violent behavior was unacceptable as a way to resolve issues.
“We will continue to participate [with the students] but also to maintain the integrity of the academic project, the safety of staff and students and the infrastructure of the university. It is important and necessary for the academic program to continue,” said Patel.
He added that after extensive discussions with the SRC on Saturday, Wits’ senior executive team met on Sunday, March 5, to consider the request put forward by the SRC.
In response, the university said this request had been changed to the original request that all students with debts of up to R150 000 be allowed to enrol.
The university said: “Due to resource constraints, the university cannot allow all students in all programs, whether full-time, part-time or occasional, to register without re-registration requirements.”
The SRC then said it denied university exemptions to students who could not register due to criteria set by the university.
“We reject the stance of the university because the concessions set do not solve the problems that lie behind this protest,” the SRC said.
The students are also demanding that the university absorb the R86 million accommodation budget shortfall created as a result of NSFAS capping off campus accommodation at R45 000 a year.
The university responded to the request by saying it had agreed to set up a working group with the SRC with the aim of working on a response to the accommodation funding crisis created as a result of the NSFAS closure.
“This working group will also engage NSFAS and all relevant parties to find a solution to this crisis, as Wits University cannot absorb this shortcoming as it will compromise the financial sustainability of the institution,” the university said.
Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande met the University of South Africa (Usaf), an umbrella body representing 26 public universities., to discuss student concerns.
A statement issued after the meeting said the issue of the NSFAS R45 000 accommodation cap was recently introduced was discussed.
The meeting decided to form a committee comprising the department of higher education and training, Usaf and vice-chancellors of all affected institutions to consider solutions for those affected by the cap.
Furthermore, the committee will meet soon next week to look at cases and practical solutions. It will take into account some contradictory facts affecting the implementation of the R45 000 cap.
Wits SRC president Aphiwe Mnyamana said most NSFAS recipients were beneficiaries of the South African Social Security Agency, which meant they could not pay the extra R35 000 for accommodation.
“So this means that next year 60% of our NSFAS students will not be able to register because of the closure,” said Mnyamana.
Nzimande also stated that all NSFAS-funded students can be registered by all institutions without paying registration fees.
Nzimande strongly condemned the violent incident, saying violent protests were unacceptable and did not provide solutions to students’ problems.