Johannesburg - Protesting university students gave Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister Dr Blade Nzimande until 5pm on Friday to respond to their wide-ranging and extensive list of demands or face a nationwide shutdown from Monday.
The SA Union of Students (Saus) wrote to Nzimande on Wednesday this week listing 15 demands that should have been met by yesterday.
Among the students’ demands are financial clearance and that historical debts for all students in order to “ensure smooth registration” as it happened at the University of the Western Cape.
Saus is also demanding immediate provision of post-graduate funding, including advanced diploma qualifications to be part of the funding framework.
The students’ union has told Nzimande in its letter that if the 15 demands are either not met or responded to by his office by Friday they will be left with no other option but to declare a national shutdown of all the country’s 26 universities from Monday.
According to the Saus, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) allocations for first-time entering students must be unblocked for registration while government is still resolving the funding matters.
Students also want laptops to be provided as the academic year starts.
“The agreement last year was that students will receive laptops before the start of the 2021 academic year,” Saus said.
They also want all student allowances to be paid this month as the academic year begins.
”Landlords are already harassing students for payment. Students must be provided with their academic records and certificates, even those who owe the universities,” state their demands.
Students are also demanding zero percent fee increase and consultation like they did during the #FeesMustFall movement in 2015 for the looming academic year.
”We are demanding free quality education for the poor and the missing middle. The increase of value-added tax from 14% to 15% is meant to cover free education. We demand suspension of academic exclusion for the 2021 academic year because of the impact of Covid-19,” state their demands.
They want to be allowed to be allowed to register until the end of April, considering the difficulties that students and institutions are facing.
“We demand NSFAS appeals to be opened and finalised within the next two weeks. Currently students who intend to appeal are excluded from registration,” the students state in their letter of demands.
The threatened protest action follows Nzimande suffering another blow this week when the North Gauteng High Court reviewed and set aside his decision to force the University of SA (Unisa) to reduce its student intake by 20 000.
Judge Elizabeth Kubushi also set aside Unisa’s decision to scrap the semester system with a year-long system.
Students have joined the protests that led to 35-year-old government employee Mthokozisi Ntumba, an innocent bystander, who was killed when shots were fired during a student protest at the hands of the police in Braamfontein, Johannesburg this week.
The universities of Limpopo, Cape Town and the Central University of Technology also experienced protests after Ntumba’s slaying.
The Black Lawyers’ Association’s Student Chapter had brought the matter before the high court to force Unisa to admit students that have completed higher certificates in law and justice into the LLB degree if they meet the requirements.
Political Bureau