Rustenburg - An enormous quantity of petrol and a large number of petrol bombs were found at the Mahikeng Campus of the North West University (NWU), Vice Chancellor Professor Dan Kgwadi said on Thursday.
“If the university did not react on time, it was possible that the university would have been burned down.”
He said the campus would remain closed until order was restored.
“Our approach has been to take the campus from the students and establish authority. We had a meeting with parents to explain the situation. We felt that the best thing was to close the campus so that sanity must prevail,” said Kgwadi.
He said there were damages at the campus and it was still risky for staff and students.
“We had to clear the campus for now so that we can go in and assess how much needs to be fixed before the students are allowed back on campus.”
He said the situation would impact on the start of examination at the campus but, other campus would write examination as planned.
The Mahikeng campus was closed on Wednesday, following violent protest after the nationwide #Feesmustfall protest.
North-West Premier Supra Mahumapelo has stepped in to try and find amicable solution.
“As government we don’t have control over the university, but we cannot allow the situation to deteriorate. My request to you is that, be flexible as the management of the university. After what happened at Marikana, we cannot afford another situation like that,” Mahumapelo said.
“We need stability in our province and that stability is not going to fall from heaven, we must engage amongst ourselves as adults and resolve this problem amicably.”
Mahumapelo addressed students at the campus entrance and appealed for calm. He also appealed to the university management to allow students back on campus and engage in talks to find a solution.
African News Agency