The Tshwane University of Technology has obtained a court interdict barring students from its GaRankuwa campus, where they caused hundreds of thousands of rands’ damage on Thursday.
The interdict was obtained in an urgent application in the Pretoria High Court on Thursday night, a university spokesperson said.
On Friday morning, there was a handful of students on the campus, ”but it looks like they are getting ready to leave”, she said.
Students protesting against alleged high registration fees set fire to three prefabricated classrooms on Thursday, burning the furniture and other contents to ashes.
They also used burning tyres and rocks to barricade the campus entrance, severely disrupting traffic in the area. Police are investigating a case of arson.
Most students had dispersed by Thursday afternoon after university management gave them an ultimatum to leave by 1pm or face arrest.
About 1 200 students housed in the campus residences had to find alternative accommodation.
The university said students will be allowed back on the campus once the problem has been resolved and they have undertaken to refrain from violence and arson.
University management remains prepared to talk to students and is waiting to be approached for negotiations, the spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, the institution’s interim council has arranged a special meeting for Saturday to discuss the fate of students who missed classes and supplementary examinations currently under way.
On Friday morning, students planned to go to the institution’s Pretoria West campus by bus, but were prevented from doing so.
Police spokesperson Inspector Matthews Nkoadi said the situation was calm on Friday. Police were keeping watch at the GaRankuwa campus.
The university has expressed ”disgust and surprise” at the students’ actions, claiming it had already responded to their complaints.
It had made provision for students unable to meet their registration fees to make special arrangements for deferred payment.
An investigation has been launched into the high failure rate in some subjects and a meeting has been arranged to report back to students.
Regarding complaints over bursaries, the university said these are funded with government money. The institution has already allocated the entire sum it received for bursaries and has asked the state for more.
The South African Students’ Congress has come out in support of the students’ complaints, but criticised the means used to raise these. — Sapa