Johannesburg - Frustrated Wits students have on Wednesday blocked the entry gates to the campus in protest action demanding accommodation and financial support.
The student representative council (SRC) said that students have been sleeping in libraries, corridors, laboratories and restrooms due to lack of accommodation and struggling to pay for other accommodation.
The excluded students were demanding to be placed at residences and to be able to register without any payment.
The SRC made it clear that the university would face an immediate shutdown until their demands were met.
The SRC mobilised and urged affected students on campus to join the march against systematic exclusion so that their grievances could be addressed.
“The protest is for all students who haven’t registered due to financial exclusion. It’s for all students sleeping in labs and libraries. It’s for all students who are expected to attend class on an empty stomach because they haven’t received allowances.
“It’s for all students who have to pay crazy top-ups in Braamfontein. It’s for all students who cannot afford the R10k to move in at residence. It’s for all students who were not accommodated by the SRC and hardship fund,” said the SRC.
The SRC deemed the university in a state of emergency until the following demands were met:
– All students owing R150 000 or less should be allowed to register for the 2023 academic year.
– The R10 000 upfront fee for Wits residences should be waived, and students should be allowed to move in.
– The university must allocate an additional R30 million towards hardship accommodation in order to secure more beds for homeless students.
– The NSFAS R45 000 cap for residences must be scrapped with immediate effect.
– All students who are recipients of the hardship fund should be allowed to register and not pay the residual amount.
Wits has beefed up security on campus gates to stabilise the situation.
The same incident happened at Capricorn TVET College in Polokwane, Limpopo, where students protested over lack of accommodation, outstanding fees, shortage of books and lecturers.
Addressing the matter, Wits said in a statement that they were committed to ensuring that staff and students were safe and the academic programme would continue as scheduled.
To tackle the accommodation issue, Wits said it 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. The University and private service providers are also navigating NSFAS’ decision to cap accommodation costs at R45,000 per annum, which is regrettable.
“Wits appealed the decision and lobbied for a differentiated approach that takes the real cost of accommodation into account. This will be pursued by USAF - in the interim Wits is assisting NSFAS-funded students on campus and in accredited private residences, who have accepted the cap for this year,” it said.
The University said it was doing all it can within their means to assist students, be it through funding students, fundraising from various sectors, and administering financial aid, bursaries and scholarships. “We will continue to work with the SRC and our partners in the private and public sectors to do all that we can to help academically deserving students who qualify for hardship funding,” it said.
To ease matters, the university stated that a number of concessions have also been made including:
- Allowing students who owe R10 000 or less to register
- Allowing students whose total household income is below R600 000 to apply for registration assistance by paying 50% of the outstanding debt due and by making an arrangement to pay the balance of the debt during the course of the academic year.