Cape Town - After several several weeks of protest by UCT’s student representative council (SRC), an agreement has been reached regarding grievances around fee blocks and the academic exclusion of academically eligible students.
In a statement released last week, the university management and the SRC said it had reconciled following external mediation over fee block issues.
This comes after two days of mediation sessions on March 14 and 15 facilitated by independent external mediator Ashraf Mohamed and supported by Akha Tutu, appointed by the student representatives.
“Under the agreement, which came into effect on Wednesday, March 15, the UCT management shall, in a consultative manner, ‘conduct a review in respect of its fee policy, with specific reference to the application of a ‘fee block’ on the grounds of the financial means of the university and the needs of each student, the socio-economic conditions affecting each student, the academic performance of each student, and so forth.”
UCT said the agreement is applicable to academically eligible UCT students who were registered in 2022, including students in the Graduate School of Business, and excluding international students due to visa restrictions.
Emeritus Professor Daya Reddy, the interim vice-chancellor, said: “We have worked very hard over the two days to resolve the issues as speedily as possible in order not only to ensure that academic and other activities continue without further disruptions but also, importantly, to work jointly with the SRC to address the plight of students affected by fee blocks.”
SRC president Hlengiwe Lisa Dube said: “The SRC as student leaders will continue to advocate for students of this institution. We are pleased that management was able to address some of the pressing issues.
“We vowed that no student would be left behind and as we continue to fight the bigger fight of fee blocks, let us acknowledge the efforts and accomplishments made thus far.”
UCT said all the issues relating to accommodation, student assessment and academic concessions, as well as the interim interdict, remained outstanding and mediation would continue to finalise these.