Wits students protest over tuition fee increase

Wits fees gripe ‘legitimate’, says Habib

Durban - Wits University vice-chancellor Professor Adam Habib believes that students have a legitimate gripe over the fee increase at the institution.

However, he warned that protesting students would not be allowed to violate the rights of others wanting to learn.

Habib is in Durban attending the Higher Education Summit.

Fees at Wits are expected to go up by 10.5 percent from next year due to declining government subsidies.

"The increase in fees is onerous and students have a legitimate concern on that but we are caught in a bind. Utility bills have gone up and that means research equipment has also gone up so we are really in a bind. But that does not entitle students to impose on the rights of others," said Habib.

He said that the university’s management was part of the presidential task team looking into resolving the impasse between students and the institution.

On Wednesday hundreds of students blocked entrances to the university’s campus in protest against the planned increase in fees.

Habib said he expected lectures to continue as normal on Thursday.

“Everything should be normal but we have had reports of groups of students mobilising so we will see how that develops. We are monitoring the situation closely," he said.
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More at http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-afr...-legitimate-says-habib-1.1930363#.Vh9ze26-Opo
 
The student protest continues this morning on our campuses and many entrances and exits have been blocked. We again apologise for any inconvenience caused.

We are working on clearing these entrances as quickly as we can, and if needs be with the assistance of the South African Police Services. We have consulted with SAPS on our respective roles and the SAPS has agreed to manage the parameter security. They will assist the University in allowing students, staff and visitors to move freely on and off our campuses. We will inform you as soon as these gates are open.

The academic programme will continue as planned and any disruptions will be managed on a case by case basis. Should any disruption occur, students and staff have been asked to remain calm.

We are also open to talking to the students and other groups who are protesting in order to find an amicable solution to this matter. This offer has been made to the students.

Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Habib is in Durban for the remainder of this week attending the Summit on Higher Education where he is working towards finding lasting solutions to resolve the student funding issues in the higher education sector.

We will keep you posted as things progress throughout the day. Please visit www.wits.ac.za for the latest update or follow @Wits_News and @Wits_University for regular information.
 
grantza said:
i saw an interview on tv last night - students will have to fork up around R10 000 on registration ??
R10 000 ?


that's way unacceptable
the country needs educated people and yet this kind of obstacle is places in front of those with the most potential !
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Well, the reason for that is actually the non-payment of fees. There is always some people who can't pay, NSFAS is late or something went wrong somewhere and eventually they get a free pass to write exams without paying. The next fun part is that so many students, no matter what colour, don't appreciate varsity. They still don't complete work, study half-assedly and then expect the relevant department to help. Some students actually complain that a course is too difficult even! So either the department gives in to pressure and lowers the standard or they hold strong and students continue to throw tantrums.

I could go into the massive amounts of extra administration that occurs because of students not responding timeously or lacking the ability to fill out a form. It ends up boiling down to that some of them really should not be there. Those ones also tend to be the most vocal. One of those who couldn't make it ended up going into politics instead <Though this person was honestly not bad and just couldn't keep up and took his blows like a man. Great person! Very vocal about any issue however.>.

Also, if the government wants more educated people then they should provide a subsidy for tutors as well. Currently the department I am at has tutors only by introducing the concept of "community hours" which works fine when you have enough larger classes at higher levels. Physics honours has a class size of 4. That makes the third years and even second years have to help out with overseeing experiments.

R10k and a 10% increase is a shockingly large number. However, so many factors lead up to those kinds of numbers. Too many parties on all sides don't cooperate and thus introduce more obstacles to those who want to learn.
 
grantza said:
i saw an interview on tv last night - students will have to fork up around R10 000 on registration ??
R10 000 ?


that's way unacceptable
the country needs educated people and yet this kind of obstacle is places in front of those with the most potential !
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That registration amount does count towards your course fees, so its not an amount on top of your course fees. Its a down payment as such. If you cant afford to pay that registration fee though, can you afford the rest? Your options is then to apply for bursaries, but people should apply for those early on and not leave it to the last minute.
 
I sympathise with the students, but would just like to point out that tertiary education is not a right, contrary to what many of them claim ("our right to education is being violated").
 
Nefertiti said:
That registration amount does count towards your course fees, so its not an amount on top of your course fees. Its a down payment as such. If you cant afford to pay that registration fee though, can you afford the rest? Your options is then to apply for bursaries, but people should apply for those early on and not leave it to the last minute.
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long and short is there is a shortage of skilled and educated youth in this country.
these students, who have obviously been accepted to study in their respective fields, have this kind of burden placed before them.

it's a hideous tragedy when someone who has the potential to achieve something, is denied the opportunity due to a lack of funds
 
grantza said:
long and short is there is a shortage of skilled and educated youth in this country.
these students, who have obviously been accepted to study in their respective fields, have this kind of burden placed before them.

it's a hideous tragedy when someone who has the potential to achieve something, is denied the opportunity due to a lack of funds
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I am in agreement with you. Unfortunately space is limited and using money as a filter helps, but its not ideal. If we could only match the right people with the right education track (irrespective of university or trade etc) we would all be winning.

edit: and lets not forget money. A lot of people go to university and drop out and those fees are wasted on them. If that could be curbed, we would have money to help the people with potential.
 
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Wits students demand meeting before lectures commence

JOHANNESBURG - Wits University students say they want to meet with the vice chancellor before lectures can continue on campus.

Protesting students have blocked the entrances to the campus again today, over the proposed 10.5 percent fee increase for next year.

As a result staff and non-protesting students cannot enter with buses or private cars.

Some people have entered on foot in an attempt to get to class, but most people have avoided campus today.

Engineering student Sipho Mokwena says they want a response from university officials.
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More at http://ewn.co.za/2015/10/15/Wits-students-demand-meeting-before-lectures-commence
 
Wits student protest rages on, cops step in

JOHANNESBURG - Wits University says it’s currently working on clearing the entrances to its Johannesburg campus and police will assist where necessary as students continue their illegal protest for a second day.

Students have been demonstrating after an announcement about a proposed university fee increase of 10,5 percent from next year.

Access to the campus is limited, with many tests and lectures being cancelled, and some reports of vandalism and intimidation.

Student Sipho Surprise Mokoena says the protest is about having access to tertiary education at an affordable price.

“There must be no learning, but we’re not planning to be violent we want to ensure that these processes are resolved as quickly as possible.”
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More at http://ewn.co.za/2015/10/15/Wits-student-protest-rages-on-as-police-steps-in
 
Efforts to end protests against fee increases at Wits University are being hampered by the various student groups involved in the matter.

Management had difficulty negotiating with students as there were various groups, each with its own leaders, who wanted different things. They included the EFF Wits Student Council, The Progressive Youth Alliance, and the All Residence Council, Wits spokesperson Shirona Patel said on Thursday.

"As soon as we speak to the SRC, some students tell us that they are not being represented by the SRC."

On Wednesday students began blocking access to the university’s entrances, in protest against a fee increase of 10.6% due to come into effect next year. Lectures were suspended.

Patel said Vice Chancellor Adam Habib would negotiate with the SRC on behalf of all of the groups. He was currently in Durban but would return to Johannesburg on Friday.

Students' Representative Council president Shaeera Kalla said there were various leaders, but all had a common goal.

Patel said Habib was expected to meet student representatives on Friday.

Kalla however rejected any talk of a meeting.

"We have received no communication about a meeting. We have made it clear that we will boycott any meeting because this is no longer an SRC matter," Kalla said.

The university was trying to resolve the stand-off on campus and speaking to those at the gates of the Braamfontein campus on Thursday night.

"We are confident that the students will stand down," Patel said.

Kalla said the protest against the increases would continue throughout Thursday night.

"This is a national issue," she said.

Lectures would remain suspended on Friday, except at the medical school, for the sake of the safety of students and staff, Patel said.

News24 - http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Too-many-groups-hampering-Wits-talks-20151015
 
Just burn Wits to the ground that will solve everyone's problem the South African way.
 
Wits students accuse police of ‘using excessive force’

JOHANNESBURG - Students at Wits University have accused police of using excessive force while attempting to disperse their protest.

The institution is looking to implement a 10,5 percent hike and the students are demanding that the fee increases be reviewed.

The SRC has posted videos on its social media pages of police forcibly removing a small group of students from a university entrance they had blocked.

Click here to view the first video.

Students say they won’t be intimidated by the presence of police.

SRC member Shaeera Kalla says police used unnecessary force on students who were studying at the university entrance on Wednesday night.

“A student was actually choked by one of the police officers and there was a girl who was picked up and thrown around.”
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More at http://ewn.co.za/2015/10/16/Wits-protesting-student-accuse-police-of-using-excessive-force
 
supersunbird said:
Puhlease!

I bet they don't want to move, so of course force is the only way to move them, and its not excessive.
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Agree ,from that vid I cannot see what police did wrong,people blocked entrances so police pulled them away,perhaps if police used rubber bullets,it would be "excessive" but this was just physically removing them
 
Wits to suspend all activities on Friday

Johannesburg - Wits University is to suspend all activities at the institution on Friday - barring its Medical School campus, it said in a statement.

"Wits University is doing all it can to diffuse the current situation on campus and are making another attempt to engage with the students at the main gates on the Braamfontein campuses now," it said late on Thursday following a second day of protests.

"The university has taken a decision to postpone all university activities on all our campuses on Friday. The Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences will communicate directly with staff and students regarding the activities planned for the faculty tomorrow [Friday]."

Wits Vice Chancellor Adam Habib is expected to address students on Friday.

Students have been protesting since Wednesday over fee hikes.

News24
Source
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Wits-to-suspend-all-activities-on-Friday-20151015
 
A student called in to 5fm yesterday afternoon and this is what she had to say;

According to her;
- Students were being stopped from entering or leaving the campus (she was trapped on campus at the time of her call)
- Roaming groups were looking for students that were trying to study and disrupting them. These were students that were not attending classes, just studying on their own and they were being targeted.
- Threats were made that if any class, lab or library was open and classes were in progress it would be attacked/destroyed.

This is pure criminal behaviour. It is high time that people who do this are treated as criminals. If your ''right'' to protest infringes on the rights and compromises the safety of others you are then a criminal, nothing more, nothing less.
 
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Its always funny, they will strike today about the increase of fees (not to mention that the lecturers needs an increase also on their salary) and the next year they will strike because they dont get a 12% increase on their salaries?
 
thestaggy said:
A student called in to 5fm yesterday afternoon and this is what she had to say;

According to her;
- Students were being stopped from entering or leaving the campus (she was trapped on campus at the time of her call)
- Roaming groups were looking for students that were trying to study and disrupting them. These were students that were not attending classes, just studying on their own and they were being targeted.
- Threats were made that if any class, lab or library was open and classes were in progress it would be attacked/destroyed.

This is pure criminal behaviour. It is high time that people who do this are treated as criminals. If your ''right'' to protest infringes on the rights and compromises the safety of others you are then a criminal, nothing more, nothing less.
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zululami said:
We must protest responsibly though.
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SammyD said:
You don't know what you're talking about.
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looks like the stupid protesters are doing their usual thing .....
 
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