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PHUTI MOSOMANE
FOLLOWING continued disruptions to lectures on Thursday, Wits University, has announced that it has suspended students who took part in violent protests in and around the campus.
Students at the university students embarked on a violent protest on Thursday and made their way into Braamfontein streets where they were joined by other groups.
“Shops were looted, streets were blocked and property was damaged. This afternoon, we also issued multiple suspension orders to disruptors who transgressed the University’s rules,” the university said in a statement last night on Thursday.
The university said its Legal Office will continue to work through the evidence submitted by the community to ensure that “perpetrators who can be identified, are charged”.
On Thursday afternoon, however, university activities, including academic programmes, continued as scheduled, with little to zero disruptions.
The university said during the investigations, it established that some students who participated in the violent disruptions on Thursday morning were students who were already “academically excluded”.
“Some had failed multiple times, had lost their funding, and were now demanding to be registered,” it said.
While the university management says it’s engaging the Student Representative Council (SRC), academic activities will continue on Friday.
“We are also asking lecturers and academics to make up for any time lost and to upload relevant material to Ulwazi.”
Protesting students are demanding that the university allow students with a debt of R150 000 or less to register, and NSFAS R45 000 cap on accommodation to be amended.
The university said it has progressively increased the amount of funding allocated to students. In 2022, Wits University disbursed over R1,6 billion to 26,161 students.
To date, over 36 200 (96%) of Wits’ students have registered for the 2023 academic year, with Postgraduate intakes set to continue throughout the year.
In 2023 alone, the university has committed R28 million (up from R10 million) to the Wits Hardship Find, to assist academically deserving students to register and to secure emergency accommodation, in line with the rules of the Fund and resources permitting.
To date over 500 students have been funded at a cost of R18.1 million.
This is over and above the R150 million that the university provides in scholarships to deserving students annually.
“The University has secured 350 beds from accredited private accommodation service providers to assist students in need, including those that have been sleeping in libraries and other spaces. These students are being assisted on a daily basis as beds become available,” it said.
The university and private service providers are also navigating NSFAS’ decision to cap accommodation costs at R45,000 per annum, which it said “is regrettable”.
Wits University appealed the decision and lobbied for a differentiated approach that takes the real cost of accommodation into account.
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