Pretoria - Locked out. Thousands of young people’s dreams of a tertiary education ended at the locked gates of the Tshwane University of Technology on Tuesday.
TUT turned away latecomers who had for the past two days queued from the early morning at the Pretoria West main campus and the Soshanguve campus, because all its available first-year places had been taken.
The snaking queue, the scorching heat and repeated announcements that the campus would not be opened did not deter those who recently got their matric results and now wanted to study further.
They heard the announcement and the gate was locked in their faces, but still they would not disperse, staying on in the vain hope that TUT officials would change their minds and let them in.
Thomas Dzimba said he had been waiting since 4am and was upset at the way they had been turned away.
The situation was the same at TUT’s Soshanguve campus.
Nathi Nkosi, who comes from KwaZulu-Natal, said TUT was disorganised and there was no place for waiting students to rest, nor were water or toilet facilities provided.
The university said all courses at TUT were full and that it would not accept any more applications for 2013.
TUT’s Registrar, Professor Steward Mothata, said the university had been flooded with applications since it opened on January 3.
He also announced that, in the interests of the safety of the public, TUT’s campuses in Pretoria, Soshanguve, Ga-Rankuwa and Arcadia would be closed to students and the public until further notice. This was to give the varsity time to process all the applications it had received and to communicate with successful applicants.
Mothata urged first-time students accepted for 2013 to adhere to the registration times and venues given in their acceptance letters.
The University of Pretoria closed applications for this year in September and is not allowing latecomers to apply.
The registration process for successful first years will commence in the week of January 28.
Outside the University of Johannesburg (UJ) – where queuing for places resulted in a stampede in which one woman died last year – dejected students sat beneath banners announcing “No walk-ins” (late registrations).
But hopeful applicants are still arriving at the university and more than 25 000 have phoned in the hope of last-minute acceptance.
Pretoria News