Durban - The University of KwaZulu-Natal has suspended all academic activities for the rest of the week.
The university which has been the battleground for students protesting the payment of historical debt announced on Tuesday afternoon that it had taken the decision to suspend activities at all its campuses until Monday following a wave of violence that has seen students rampaging and torching buildings.
In a statement on Tuesday the university said: "In view of the ongoing disruptions, the University of KwaZulu-Natal has taken a decision to suspend with immediate effect the academic programme on all campuses until Friday, 7 February 2020. The academic programme will resume on Monday, 10 February 2020. The decision to suspend academic activities was taken in the best interests of the University".
Earlier in the day the university suspended lectures at its Edgewood campus after students torched a a kitchen next to a lecture hall last on Monday night.
UKZN spokesman Ashton Bodrick said protesters committed acts of arson and damaged property on the Pietermaritzburg and Westville campuses on Monday night and in the early hours Tuesday morning.
"At the Pietermaritzburg campus, protesters threw stones and bottles at vehicles on a public road and set fire to a guardhouse as well as a kitchen - attached to a student examination hall. Fire and Emergency Services managed to extinguish the fire. The exam hall did not catch alight. At the Westville campus, protesters set fire to a section of the gymnasium and a mobile office. University Risk Management Services (RMS), Public Order Policing, SAPS, and Emergency Services worked throughout the night to safeguard the campuses and apprehend suspects," he said.
He added that police are investigating all incidents of assault, destruction of property and arson.
Several arrests have been made since the start of the protest action, Bodrick said
Protests have been raging at the institution since last week. Students have been fighting for the abolition of historical debt and having to pay 15% of their debt. Student leaders have argued that poor students cannot afford to pay the 15%, which often runs into thousands of rands.
UKZN said it already had debt of R1.7 billion at the end of 2019. It also said it had capped the maximum amount of money that can be paid towards student debt at R45 000.