The pilot project involves 39 public higher education institutions, including the University of Johannesburg and the University of the Western Cape
The University of the Witwatersrand student representative council (SRC) said on Wednesday it was willing to pause a protest over fees and accommodation for 24 hours, on condition that the institution removed private security guards and police officers from the campus and lifted the suspension of six students, including its president.
With SRC president Aphiwe Mnyamana suspended, his deputy Kamogelo Mabe told journalists that the council would only meet the university’s management to negotiate when its demands are met.
This was after authorities at the university demanded that students stop the protest to pave the way for a meeting with the vice-chancellor.
Mnyamana was suspended on Monday on allegations of serious misconduct and failing to appear at a suspension hearing.
Students at Wits began protesting last Wednesday over the exclusion of those who cannot register for the new academic year because they owe the university money, or cannot secure accommodation at residences because they cannot afford the deposit.
Mabe stressed that should the university fail to adhere to the “ceasefire” demands, the students were willing to go back “to the ground”.
“If we feel the need to continue [protesting], the ground is always ready. As we have always said, students are not demoralised,” he said.
The SRC’s main demands are that:
- All students who were registered in 2022 and are academically eligible to return to Wits should be allowed to register for the 2023 academic year, including part-time and occasional students.
- National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) students in off-campus accommodation not be required to pay a deposit and the balance of the accommodation cost not covered by the scheme; and
- All accredited buildings must make provision for NSFAS-funded students at the scheme’s rates.
NSFAS this year introduced a new policy to cap its student accommodation allowance at R45 000 a year.
Law student Lufuno Nemavhola told the Mail & Guardian that as a student who is funded by NSFAS and also receives a social security grant, she cannot afford to pay the top-up on her accommodation.
“I am originally from Limpopo and I stay at an on-campus accommodation. My yearly accommodation funds have gone up to R77 000 and with the NSFAS cap, I cannot afford to pay the additional money, meaning I will not be able to register next year as I will be owing the university over R10 000,” Nemavhola said.
Speaking before the parliamentary portfolio committee on higher education, science and innovation on Wednesday, Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation Buti Manamela said a working committee had been established to review the R45 000 student allowance for accommodation at universities and colleges.
“We decided to establish a working committee comprising the department, Universities South Africa and vice-chancellors of all the affected institutions to consider solutions for those affected by the R45 000 cap,” Manamela said.
“The committee’s first meeting is today [Wednesday] to look at all these cases and come up with practical solutions on how to [resolve this] matter.
“We [are] however, concerned about what appears to be a price collusion by some of the accommodation landlords to maximise their profits,” added Manamela.