The situation in UKZN Howard campus has been a concern as students burn down the campus security building in a protest. This week is the final weeks of orientation for freshers and late registration, some students could not submit their information and could not make a payment due to the protest going on.
The protest started when a large group of returning students disrupt the proceedings because students with historical debt had to pay at least 15% of the total amount to qualify for registration. Students of UKZN insist that they cannot afford this and that the promise made by South Africa former President, Jacob Zuma, to offers free higher education to students must be kept.
Mpahathi Majola, Howard College Representative Council chairperson when talking to reporters made it known that all academics activities have been put on hold. In his word:
“The process of orientation has been halted. Primarily, [it’s] because of the concerns that students have. [A] majority of the students haven’t been able to register because of the fact that student is now required to pay 15% of their historic debt before they are cleared for registration,” Majola explained.
“Part of the battle here is the issue of financial exclusion. So, once we are able to deal with that issue all other issues are secondary,”
Majola further said that, besides the issue regarding the 15% historic debt repayment that’s in contention, most students are still struggling with securing on-campus accommodation.
“There are secondary issues like residences, as well as the issue of post-graduate intakes. But, the starting point is to get the issue of financial clearance out of the way because a majority of the students are not registered primarily because they are owing,” Majola stated.
The issue in the university has not been resolved and it seems it will last for sometimes.
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