Durban - The Durban campus of Unisa was expected to be reopened to students on Friday, its vice-chancellor, Professor Mandla Makhanya, said on Thursday.
Protests led by Unisa’s national and regional student representative councils, broke out at the campus on Monday over the closure of several exam venues, and a newly introduced admission fee.
Unisa’s student leadership demanded that Makhanya travel from Pretoria to meet them on Thursday, as students were still shut out and the roads surrounding the building were closed.
The SRC’s national secretary-general, Buyisile Njokeni, confirmed that students had decided to suspend the protest while discussions with the Unisa leadership continued.
After the meeting on Thursday, Makhanya told journalists that management and student body leaders needed to have “deeper” conversations to resolve the grievances.
He said he had tried to respond to them without plunging Unisa into crisis.
Earlier this week Njokeni said that several exam venues near students’ homes had been closed without sufficient warning – an accusation the university has disputed.
Of Unisa’s 43 exam centres in KwaZulu-Natal, six were closed, spokesman Martin Ramotshela said.
Makhanya said there had been a “tussle” between Unisa and some of the service providers which leased the exam venues.
Some landlords had shut their doors without notifying the university. He also said there had been some “contestations” over the cleanliness of some of the venues.
Makhanya said while he realised that funding was an issue for many students, the newly introduced acceptance fee of R1 500 was a necessary measure.
It would ensure that students took up their places at Unisa, and that the university did not end up printing study material for students who changed their minds about enrolling.
Nkojeni said despite suspending the protest, the SRC still rejected the fee.
Unisa’s new admissions policy means that prospective students may no longer apply for general admission, but for a specific qualification.
Makhanya said the changes were important in managing enrolment, to keep to the enrolment plans submitted to the Higher Education Department.
Already, Unisa used R100 million of its own resources a year to supplement the funding students received from the government.
He conceded that Unisa’s head office in Pretoria needed to communicate better with its regional offices about issues affecting students.
He also conceded that Unisa’s 60 000 KZN students needed more room to study, and that Unisa was considering building and renting more space.
Professor Puleng Lenkabula, the dean of students, added that it was not the first time the vice-chancellor had met the SRC.
Other members of the institution’s leadership had met several times with local and national SRC structures.
The Mercury