Wits students protest over tuition fee increase

So Sammy - you didn't agree with the fee increase - what should it be? And what should Wits do to survive without the necessary funds received from students tuition?
 
Students initially would not allow Habib to go to the toilet when he asked to do so:

https://twitter.com/Pontsho_Pilane/status/655094362746068993

Students refusing for Habib to go to the bathroom. "Hold it in until you make a decision," says a student.
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I think they were effectively being held hostage, they simply had the common sense not to put up resistance and are now denying that they were there against their will in order to minimize damage to the university's reputation. Indeed, a vice-chancellor being held hostage by students would be a world-first, and not in a good way. It is not true that any news is good news, and this is not the type of thing that WITS wants to become known for.
 
Humberto said:
Students initially would not allow Habib to go to the toilet when he asked to do so:

https://twitter.com/Pontsho_Pilane/status/655094362746068993



I think they were effectively being held hostage, they simply had the common sense not to put up resistance and are now denying that they were there against their will in order to minimize damage to the university's reputation. Indeed, a vice-chancellor being held hostage by students would be a world-first, and not in a good way. It is not true that any news is good news, and this is not the type of thing that WITS wants to become known for.
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Did he not ignore the nos and go anyway? Would a hostage be able to do that? Sure some rowdy students screamed no then laughed about it.
 
Necropolis said:
So Sammy - you didn't agree with the fee increase - what should it be? And what should Wits do to survive without the necessary funds received from students tuition?
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Where they should be getting it in the first place, government. If all these task teams the government sets up are of any use, they'll surely come up with a solution to the decreasing subsidies. Why should the students suffer for the government's failures? If Habib is serious about getting the university working at optimum he'll make sure that the task team he's part of comes up with a sustainable solution. If this 10.5% had been left as is, how do you think the ratio of academic exclusion to financial exclusion would look compared to others years?

If a company has 10 bursars, do you think they were gonna fund all 10 or just 8 or maybe 7 next year? Students actually had the companies that pay for their studies tell them Wits is expensive and they can't handle a 10% increase.
 
SammyD said:
Where they should be getting it in the first place, government. If all these task teams the government sets up are of any use, they'll surely come up with a solution to the decreasing subsidies. Why should the students suffer for the government's failures? If Habib is serious about getting the university working at optimum he'll make sure that the task team he's part of comes up with a sustainable solution. If this 10.5% had been left as is, how do you think the ratio of academic exclusion to financial exclusion would look compared to others years?

If a company has 10 bursars, do you think they were gonna fund all 10 or just 8 or maybe 7 next year? Students actually had the companies that pay for their studies tell them Wits is expensive and they can't handle a 10% increase.
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The crux of the matter then - if it's the ANCs fault why are protesters shutting down Wits?

Go protest outside of Luthuli House - and leave those students who are actually concerned with learning to get on with their studies.
 
Necropolis said:
The crux of the matter then - if it's the ANCs fault why are protesters shutting down Wits?

Go protest outside of Luthuli House - and leave those students who are actually concerned with learning to get on with their studies.
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That ^
 
Necropolis said:
The crux of the matter then - if it's the ANCs fault why are protesters shutting down Wits?

Go protest outside of Luthuli House - and leave those students who are actually concerned with learning to get on with their studies.
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Students who are actually concerned with learning. How is a student who says (this was actually said to me), "If the fee's increase by 10% next year, I'll be forced to drop out" less concerned with learning than any other student.

And these students?
https://twitter.com/WitsPYA/status/655659731357409280

I saw people going through their Ridley books with pencil in hand in the Senate House on Friday. (First year engineers).

You cannot tell me students who were protesting are less concerned with their education than those who weren't protesting.

If the protest went to Luthuli House do you think they would have gotten anything but "We shall investigate the matter", and then get a half answer July 2016 when it was too late and never get a real solution. The government doesn't listen, the university does.
 
SammyD said:
You cannot tell me students who were protesting are less concerned with their education than those who weren't protesting.
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The fact that they were actively preventing people from entering the campus tells me otherwise...
 
Intimidation wins out once again.

This country is doomed as it has nurtured a culture of violence and intimidation when it comes to dispute resolution.

And because they were not blatantly violent does not mean the potential for violence was not there.
 
SammyD said:
Where they should be getting it in the first place, government. If all these task teams the government sets up are of any use, they'll surely come up with a solution to the decreasing subsidies. Why should the students suffer for the government's failures? If Habib is serious about getting the university working at optimum he'll make sure that the task team he's part of comes up with a sustainable solution. If this 10.5% had been left as is, how do you think the ratio of academic exclusion to financial exclusion would look compared to others years?

If a company has 10 bursars, do you think they were gonna fund all 10 or just 8 or maybe 7 next year? Students actually had the companies that pay for their studies tell them Wits is expensive and they can't handle a 10% increase.
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so as a tax payer, I should be paying for your tertiary education? why is that? who are you to me?

why should private companies pay for your education?
 
Jola said:
The ANC Government will start listening when the people stop voting for it.

But they don't ???
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You're looking at the wrong people as to who voted the government in. How many varsity students do you think gave a rats ass about anything during the elections? Youth turn out is always the lowest.
 
SammyD said:
You're looking at the wrong people as to who voted the government in. How many varsity students do you think gave a rats ass about anything during the elections? Youth turn out is always the lowest.
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Well hopefully they'll start giving a rats ass now...
 
Better talk to their parents/uncles/aunts then !

No use just pressuring the university authorities, who do the best they can, and who cannot control the input costs.
 
crackersa said:
so as a tax payer, I should be paying for your tertiary education? why is that? who are you to me?

why should private companies pay for your education?
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First of all nobody is asking for something that was never there. You can ask the person who decided on the subsidy all those years back (I probably wasn't even born yet). The trend that needs to stop is the annual decrease in subsidy (for the record, the percentage increase in the subsidy is what is decreasing, not the subsidy itself). I see so much "why should my tax money do A, B, and C" (even for something that seems valid) that I'm almost convinced tax money should just sit there.



And private company bursaries aren't charities, they're investments. Most of them come with service contracts.
 
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SammyD said:
Where they should be getting it in the first place, government. If all these task teams the government sets up are of any use, they'll surely come up with a solution to the decreasing subsidies. Why should the students suffer for the government's failures? If Habib is serious about getting the university working at optimum he'll make sure that the task team he's part of comes up with a sustainable solution. If this 10.5% had been left as is, how do you think the ratio of academic exclusion to financial exclusion would look compared to others years?

If a company has 10 bursars, do you think they were gonna fund all 10 or just 8 or maybe 7 next year? Students actually had the companies that pay for their studies tell them Wits is expensive and they can't handle a 10% increase.
Click to expand...

SammyD said:
You're looking at the wrong people as to who voted the government in. How many varsity students do you think gave a rats ass about anything during the elections? Youth turn out is always the lowest.
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What do the protestors expect the university to do? Force government to increase the subsidy?

The government is responsible for it, yet the 'youth' that it affects the most don't actually protest or vote against the government that's responsible for it?
 
thestaggy said:
Sure.

https://www.enca.com/south-africa/student-threatens-habibs-safety-calls-his-head

Please watch that video and listen. My favourite part is where he says Habib must feel that his safety is threatened.

Wake up.
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And exactly who is this guy? A random student saying he represents the views of the student body? Habib was sitting dead centre of thousands of students and nothing happened to either him or Crouch. I for one like Habib (contrary to what this guy thinks).
If this guy got up in front of students and spewed that gall he would get the same reaction people who were talking nonsense got. Chants of "Who are you?! Who are you?! Who are you?!"

If Habib felt threatened do you think he would have reduced his security detail from something like five guards to just one? Seems more like protection from a random lunatic than a mob.
 
SammyD said:
And exactly who is this guy? A random student saying he represents the views of the student body? Habib was sitting dead centre of thousands of students and nothing happened to either him or Crouch. I for one like Habib (contrary to what this guy thinks).
If this guy got up in front of students and spewed that gall he would get the same reaction people who were talking nonsense got. Chants of "Who are you?! Who are you?! Who are you?!"

If Habib felt threatened do you think he would have reduced his security detail from something like five guards to just one? Seems more like protection from a random lunatic than a mob.
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He does not have to represent the views of the entire student body. He needs to represent the view of 10, 20 or 50 who would be more than enough to spark chaos. Wits would not have shut everything down if there was no fear of things escalating.

How do you stop someone from entering or exiting an area if you are not in a position of authority? You physically obstruct them or you ensure that they fear for their own safety through intimidation.
 
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