Chaotic scenes played out at the University of South Africa (Unisa) Durban campus on Wednesday morning as frustrated students stormed the administration building demanding that their registration and admin requirements be attended to.
Students, some of whom had been waiting since early morning, were not being registered because staff members are allegedly on a go slow. Unisa staff members in other parts of the country are on a strike.
A student who witnessed the morning’s commotion at Unisa but declined to give his name said students had grown frustrated with waiting: “They stormed the building demanding to be attended to by the staff. Staff members were inside but they were not working."
He said after the students stormed the building and some of them blockaded the road, the police were called in.
“They arrived with big guns and some of them arrived with water cannons. The students came out of the building voluntarily and dispersed.”
Nearby, at the Durban University of Technology, staff members embarked on a peaceful demonstration. They marched from Market road to the university’s main head offices at the Steve Biko campus.
Staff members have been on strike since Monday over salary demands. The negotiations stalled after the university offered them 4% while they are demanding 10%. Those negotiations were to resume later on Wednesday.