UP student leader says he’s been ‘targeted’ by university

University of Pretoria (UP) student leader Tarik Lalla believes he is being denied the right to education because of his political views and activism.

He says was accepted to study his masters in plant science and paid in time, when his registration was put on hold by the registrar.

However, in an e-mail seen by The Citizen, the real reason behind the hold is revealed to be because he brings the university into disrepute.

About misrepresentation

On 25 February and 4 March, Lalla apparently paid R12 500 for registration, yet the funds are not reflecting.

He said he tried numerous times to alert the finance office of this but it was not resolved.

In a screenshot of the online portal at the time, his account was said to be on hold at the “registrar’s discretion”.

Only on 12 March was the financial hold lifted, which was now three days too late for payment of registration fees.

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This is when the registrar said in a e-mail that he was too late for registration and gave him the real reason behind this: “The reason for the registrar’s hold on your portal was to compel you to contact my office with regards to your recent misrepresentation of yourself as a UP student and UP student leader on national television (see news night on eNCA).”

In the interview, Lalla raised his views about the National Student Financial Aid Scheme.

“I only mentioned that decisions are made without consulting students, especially when the decisions affect students,” he said.

“The interview was completely harmless, in that I did not mention UP or mention anything provocative.”

Earlier in the year, general workers at UP embarked on strike action demanding a seven percent salary increase and an end to outsourcing.

‘Targeted for participating in strike’

Lalla said he supported the strike by attending a few demonstrations and believed such acts of activism had made the university target him.

On Wednesday, he went on a protest outside the administrative building of the university because “the university has a history of student victimisation which I am trying to challenge because I am being prevented to register for my masters”.

“I have never received a charge sheet that says I have brought the university into disrepute, as that is standard procedure,” he said.

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UP spokesperson Rikus Delport said: “The university denies this and stands by its response that Mr Lalla did not attempt to complete his registration before the extended closing date for registration.

His financial block was lifted on 12 February and the final date for registration was on 8 March.”

In a separate e-mail, the university denies all allegations of this being a personal attack saying: “Mr Lalla did not become aware of the registrar’s hold until 12 March, which was after the extended registration date.

“The financial block is only lifted when the payment reflects in the UP account. Thus, his failure to register was related to a financial block not controlled by the registrar’s office.”