Wits students to carry on protesting after rejecting concessions

Despite marathon meetings at the weekend, students at Wits University on Monday vowed to continue with their protests, saying Wits failed to adequately address their demands. 

Karabo Matloga of the student representative council (SRC) said students would regroup at the university’s Great Hall on Monday morning. Their grievances include issues with accommodation and registration.  

The SRC rejected the university’s concessions after meeting with the institution’s senior executive team.  

After a mass meeting on Sunday evening, about 200 students led by the SRC marched to the house of vice-chancellor (VC) Zeblon Vilakazi in Parktown.

It was alleged the students threatened to burn down the property. 

“We condemn all forms of violence and implore the students, student leaders and all other parties to exercise maximum restraint,” said university spokesperson Shirona Patel.

She said they were managing the situation as best as they could and while they continued to find solutions to the systemic challenges, the behaviour of students was unacceptable as a means to resolve conflict.  

“We will continue to engage but also preserve the integrity of the academic project, the safety of our staff and students and the university’s infrastructure. It is also important for the academic programme to continue,” she said.  

She said they would continue teaching in a “blended learning mode” on Monday.

The university advised students to check with Ulwazi, the university’s learning management system, and consult course co-ordinators, heads of schools, managers and divisional leaders on the modus operandi for Monday.

“All student-facing services are expected to continue and staff members who serve students are expected to be at work. All essential-services staff members are required to report to work.” 

After extensive engagement between the SRC and university management to resolve the impasse, students rejected some e concessions. 

Among the list of demands, the SRC demanded that all students who were registered in 2022 and were academically eligible to return to Wits be allowed to register. This demand has been amended from the original demand that all students owing up to R150,000 be allowed to register

The university said given resource constraints, the university was not able to allow all students across all programmes, whether full-time, part-time or occasional, to register without their meeting the re-registration requirements.

The university will, however, on a case-by-case basis for 2023 only and based on resource availability, consider the requests for registration assistance from unregistered students with a PCD (proceed with no conditions attached) outcome only.  

This will further only be applicable to students seeking to register for the programme for which they were registered for the 2022 academic year, and not for registration towards new programmes, part-time and/or occasional studies.  

The university said it will endeavour to seek external donor funds for this once-off concession to assist academically excellent students. The university will accordingly allow the late registration of students who fall into this cohort of students only. 

Students also demanded the university absorb a nearly R86m accommodation budget shortfall created as a result of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme capping on-campus accommodation at R45,000 per annum. 

The SRC also demanded the withdrawal of all suspensions and legal action, and that the campus be “demilitarised”. 

The university said those who were suspended were given an opportunity to make representations to the senior deputy vice-chancellor (DVC) before suspension orders were issued.  

“They did not, however, take up this opportunity. Having said this and without prejudice to any of the university’s rights, the legal office has indicated that students can be provided with a second opportunity (which we hope they will take up) to make representations to the senior DVC in the first instance, and if need be thereafter to the VC in line with university’s processes to hear their representations, keeping in mind the nature, seriousness and severity of the conduct in question, the apprehension of harm and any other relevant factor. These will be considered on a case-by-case basis,” said the university.  

Last week's chaos saw students taking to the streets of Braamfontein and demanding the closure of shops, while some pulled signs from their posts and emptied dustbins onto roads. 

On campus, students and security guards clashed. 

On Friday, private security threw the media off the campus, barring them from the premises. On Monday, however, the university issued a communique saying after a meeting with the senior executive team of the university, it had been “agreed that media will be allowed access to campus to attend newsworthy events in the public interest”.

The university stressed media would be entering the premises “at their own risk”.

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