- UP students have joined the national call for access to free education.
- A group of students took to the streets to demand "free, decolonised" education for all.
- Among their demands are that all financial holds be lifted, regardless of historical debt.
Students at the University of Pretoria (UP) on Tuesday joined the national call by their peers at other tertiary institutions for access to "free, decolonised education".
"Due to the current developments that have been happening throughout institutions of higher learning, students have come to realise that our university has not done enough to ensure that they play their part in getting students back in the system," students said in a memorandum handed over to student leadership and management.
They join students at a number of institutions, who have taken to the streets in protest over the past week.
It started at Wits University, where students protested the non-registration of students with historical debt.
The protests took a tragic turn when a passer-by was shot dead, allegedly by police, after exiting a clinic.
Police watchdog IPID has since arrested four police officers in connection with the death of Mthokozisi Ntumba.
The officers are expected to appear in the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court on Wednesday.
READ | Wits shooting: Mthokozisi Ntumba was a hard-working and positive husband, father and brother - family
It was followed by Cabinet approving more funding for NSFAS, which would now fork out R42 billion this year, News24 reported.
Despite these developments, protests continue and have spread across the country - with one united call: "free, decolonised education for all."
UP students made the following demands in their memorandum:
2. Academic exclusions of 2020 must be suspended because the pandemic has had many adverse effects that students are unable to quantify. The trauma and sudden move to online learning should be enough to allow all students to repeat modules they failed.
3. The university and SRC must commit to a programme to address the issue of historical debt at a larger scale. This can be through scrapping certain amounts or partnering with other corporations to raise funds for the debt.
4. Campus must be opened in a safe and responsible manner, so that students are able to use computer labs on campus, and access the library for studying and other academic purposes.
5. Data allocation must be increased and more allocation should be for the day. The issue of night owl allocation is very problematic as classes commence at 07h30 and not much can be done during those hours.
6. Application for laptops should be open again to afford new students a chance to apply, and those who were rejected last year to appeal their case.
UP students added that other institutions had shown that these demands were possible to achieve.
The SRC accompanied students to hand over the memorandum to management - but, according to the EFF's Sithembiso Nkosi, the intended recipient was not there, so it was not officially handed over.
The protesters gave the institution's student leadership and management 24 hours to respond to their demands.
The University of Pretoria - in a response to News24 on Tuesday afternoon - said that it took note of the concerns of students, especially those who were still waiting for NSFAS to approve their applications.
"We are working tirelessly to support all students, where possible, to ensure that no student is left behind. The university will do everything it can to ensure that it achieves financial inclusion as far as possible while ensuring sustainability," spokesperson Rikus Delport said.
This includes extending the registration deadline to 31 March 2021 and an undertaking that students will be able to register until the NSFAS issues have been resolved.
In addition, the institution says that the financial blocks for returning and first-time entering NSFAS students had been lifted and it had already reached 99% of the target for new students, with more than 9 000 students having completed their registration.
"For students who owe the university money in respect of prior years, the amount required to be paid before registration has been reduced from 50% to 40% of the outstanding balance. These students are required to enter into a financial arrangement for the remainder of the outstanding balance. This will only apply to the 2021 year," Delport added.
Students negatively affected by the global Covid-19 pandemic have been encouraged to approach the university to make financial arrangements.