The Student Representative Council (SRC) at Wits University is heading a shutdown at the Yale Road entrance to the campus over demands to enable access to education for students who are unable to pay for certain necessities.
The SRC has urged all affected students to join the action against the ‘systematic exclusion’ of learners who cannot afford to pay the R10 000 fee to access accommodation and for those not assisted by the Hardship Fund.
The Yale Road entrance is currently the site of protest action and visitors and students are requested to use alternative entry points.
Wits communications manager Shirona Patel said, “Additional security has been brought in to enable access to Wits’ campuses for staff and students and to ensure that staff and students are safe and that the academic programme continues.”
The SRC put forward the following demands:
- Students owing R150 000 or less in fees should be allowed to register for the 2023 academic year.
- The R10 000 upfront fee for registrations should be waved and students allowed to move into their accommodation.
- The university must allocate an additional R30 million toward Hardship Accommodation in order to secure more beds for homeless students.
- The NASFAS 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.
Patel said, “Wits is committed to enabling students to access higher education, as far as its resources allow. The university has progressively increased the amount of funding allocated to students. In 2022 Wits disbursed over R1.6 billion to 26 161 students.”
She explained that university management has been working with the SRC over the past few weeks to help secure funding, largely from the private sector to enable academically deserving students to access higher education.
“In fact, up until last night, officials were in contact with the SRC, trying to get as many qualifying students to register as possible. It, therefore, comes as a surprise that despite these arrangements and the working relationship which has been established, some members of the SRC and some students have elected to protest. Wits has matched the R6.2 million brought in by the SRC rand for rand. In effect, there is a pot of R12.4 million available in the SRC Fund for qualifying students.”
This is a developing story.
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