Calm restored at Unisa’s Sunnyside campus in Pretoria

Calm has been restored to the University of South Africa’s (Unisa’s) Sunnyside campus in Pretoria, on Tuesday, following a chaotic outbreak after prospective students started climbing over the gates to get into the university grounds to register for the 2018 academic year.

“Operations are back to normal. We opened early this morning at 8am and students started queueing as early as 5am. There are no disruptions and disturbance,” said university spokesperson Martin Ramotshela.

He said they met with students from the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the South African Students Congress (Sasco) who gave them a list of demands.

“All I can say now is that we are still studying the demands.”

Some of the demands include cancellation of debt and zero fee registration.

“After we met with them [students] they agreed to give us space to deliberate and we will give them feedback,” he said

On Tuesday, students at the university were seen queuing in the morning and steadily moving into the campus grounds.

Dimakatso Mabula who was registering study marketing said she was happy that things were back to normal.

“Since I got here things have been going  well and the lines have been moving swiftly” she said.

On Monday, chaos erupted at the university when scores of students were unable to apply or register for the new academic year.

There was pandemonium when current and prospective students who grew impatient while waiting outside the locked gates forced their way on to the Sunnyside campus.

The gates had been locked the entire morning, with an occasional announcement that they would be opened soon. Those waiting were told only 20 students would be allowed in at a time to prevent a stampede. But hours later, the gates were still closed and the students grew restless.

They subsequently jumped over the gates and made their way to the registration hall.

– African News Agency (ANA)

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