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Polokwane — Five students were injured when the police fired rubber bullets at a protest over tuition fees at the University of Venda yesterday. Student leaders said the police fired rubber bullets, injuring four while a fifth person fainted during the protest on its Thohoyandou campus.
Protesters burnt debris in the streets leading to the campus and barred officials and university management from entering the campus. SRC president Mashudu Nthulane said poor students could not afford tertiary studies.
“Our parents are very poor and government is failing to ensure that we receive the education we want. You’re registered this year, and next year you’re out,” she said.
Nthulane said they had begged management to allow hundreds of students registered earlier this year to continue studying despite them owing the university money.
“Now we’re afraid that they’ll not be allowed to write examinations… we’re not going to return to the class until our problems are resolved,” she said.
“We aren’t going anywhere. They’ll rather arrest all of us. We aren’t shaken.”
University spokesperson Takalani Dzaga said their exams had not been affected by the protests.
“Our examinations are only starting next month.”
He said the management would meet student leaders to discuss a way forward.
Police spokesperson Ronel Otto said the police was keeping close watch over the campus.
Meanwhile, the University of Pretoria was unable to give any undertakings on behalf of government, students were told yesterday.
This was Vice Chancellor Cheryl de la Rey’s response to the demand for free education, one of 13 demands students handed to management earlier in the day.
A student leader read out the list of demands and the university’s response to some of them, to hundreds of students at the institution’s Client Service Centre. This followed a meeting between students and university leaders.
Lectures would start again today, both parties agreed. The announcement was greeted with cheering and whistling.
Students demanded that they not be charged interest on outstanding fees. The university agreed to this, and to the demand that registration fees remained at 2015 levels.
Other demands in the memorandum included that the university not prosecute any students who participated in the protests. The university agreed to this.
The university would look at rescheduling academic work to make up for time lost because of the protests.
It was agreed that students would not be excluded from residences because they were unable to pay.
Students earlier raised questions about the definition of “working class”, as management had said that some of the demands only applied to working class students.
The parties agreed that this would be defined by family income. However, no figures were mentioned.
A commission would be put together to look at the use of outsourcing at the university.
The demand that there be only one language of instruction, English, would be discussed by the university’s senate — Council — and the higher education department. A report on the issue would be compiled before the end of the year, students were told.
“I undertake to keep to the memorandum,” De la Rey told cheering students, before joining them as they clapped and sang.
At Pretoria University, financially needy students of the University of Pretoria will not have to pay the registration fee when registering for 2016, the institution announced on Monday.
“Students who qualify for NSFAS funding, students who submit letters from sponsors, and financially needy students who make the necessary financial arrangements with the university will be allowed to register without paying the initial fee on registration, provided that they meet all other criteria,” Vice Chancellor Cheryl de la Rey said in a statement.
“In addition, students in financial need who have outstanding residence fees will be considered individually for assistance should they meet all other residence placement criteria. Also, for students in financial need, the application fee will not be payable during 2016 for the 2017 academic year.”
De la Rey’s announcement follows Friday’s proclamation by President Jacob Zuma that there would be a zero percent increase in fees. Thousands of students took to the Union Buildings on Friday to protest against the fee increment.
The protest turned violent when some students started pelting police officers with rocks and water bottles.
De la Rey added that at UP, there would be no increase in 2016 in fees for all undergraduate, postgraduate and international students and there would also be no increase in residence accommodation fees, meal fees and any initial payments.
“To assist with meals, the university also undertakes to provide additional support to financially needy students. Furthermore, the university has substantially increased its own contribution to top up NSFAS funding by an amount of R20m, and to make these additional funds available to support poor students in 2016,” said De la Rey.
She maintained that no students would be singled out for participating in the protest action. — Sapa
Online Reporter