Johannesburg - Witwatersrand University student leader Anzio Jacobs on Friday said that the vice-chancellor and principal of the institution Adam Habib was lying about management not reaching a consensus with protesting students.
“As students, we are very disheartened, we had reached consensus with students to go ahead with today but the university has shown once again that they will only act in bad faith,” Jacobs said.
On Tuesday, Wits management postponed the academic programme and agreed to hold a General Assembly with students, staff members and alumini to reach a consensus on a way forward.
Wits management had said despite all their attempts and the engagement of former Black Student Society and SRC leaders, the mediation process with the protesting students to resume the academic programme on Monday had unsuccessful.
“The University is blatantly lying about students not wanting to engage, find a way forward and resume the academic programme,” Jacobs said.
Students gathered on the lawns where the general assembly was meant to have been held and sang struggle songs ahead of a briefing on their next steps following the postponement of the general assembly.
Jacobs said that Wits management was putting students in an “awkward” predicament because they were likely to move forward with resuming the academic programme on Monday, without having given them a chance to engage.
Wits postponed its General Assembly scheduled for Friday after negotiating parties failed to reach consensus about the resumption of classes next week, also saying that the safety of those attending it could not be guaranteed.
“It is with deep regret that we announce the postponement of the General Assembly that was to be held today,” Wits said in a statement.
“This week, we suspended the academic programme and dedicated all our resources towards building a consensus within the University community in order to be able to resume the academic programme on Monday. We had reached consensus with all University constituencies including Council, Senate, Convocation, labour and staff, but not with the protesting students.”
This comes after weeks of sometimes violent protests, which have interrupted the academic programme. Wits management then invited students, staff members and alumini to a general assembly scheduled for Friday.
A congregation of the General Assembly is called when the University community has reached consensus on a particular issue.
Wits said despite all its attempts and the energetic engagement of former Black Student Society and SRC leaders, the mediation process with the protesting students was unsuccessful.
“The protesting students effectively want the General Assembly and the march to the Constitutional Court to continue, without committing that the academic programme will commence on Monday, as previously promised,” Wits said.
Wits said one of the latest demands of the protesting students was that Wits and all other universities should be shut down until government agreed to free education.
“We will postpone the General Assembly until consensus is reached and the conditions for such an Assembly are met. We remain committed to the pledge and the march, and should conditions enable this, we would be happy to proceed.”
Wits said a Council meeting would be called this weekend to determine the way forward.
African News Agency