UCT students vow to continue protests until demands are met
|Published
Cape Town - UCT students have vowed to continue with their protests, adding fee blocks to their list of complaints, which started with the delayed registration processes.
Students blocked entrances at UCT on Thursday, resulting in the temporary suspension of shuttle services and some classes as the student representative council (SRC) beefed up its protests, alleging that the university had not fulfilled its promise of ensuring all students were registered by Monday.
UCT spokesperson Nombuso Shabalala said since last week the university has seen some intermittent protest action led by the SRC on campuses.
"The principled approach from the UCT executive is that protest action is a constitutional right. UCT respects activism and the right of students and staff to be active, engaged citizens, fighting for social justice issues," Shabalala said.
She said the SRC has since last week raised issues related to fee blocks that prevent students with debt over a certain amount from registering at UCT. They have since raised issues related to the registration process as well.
She said the UCT executive has worked extensively to engage the SRC and resolve concerns and to meet demands.
"We have extended the deadline for students to apply for exemption as well as the grace period for outstanding fees to be paid," she said.
She said they were giving students who were awaiting the outcome of appeals full access to Vula (student online learning platform) as well as to lectures and tutorials so that their academic programmes were not compromised.
UCT SRC's acting president Siya Plaatjie disputed those claims, saying that the university has tried to reach out to the SRC to have meetings.
"We understand that in these meetings, no binding decisions are made and these commitments we cannot hold them accountable to. The university has now circulated that all our demands have been met," Plaatjie said.
She said UCT was telling students that those with pending registration issues can access Vula, but the SRC was informed by students that that was not true and that they were not satisfied.
"Because even if you can access academic materials, you cannot submit that, you are not a registered student. You know, you cannot fully participate as a full student in the university," she said.
Plaatjie called for the postponement of classes until the council meeting on Monday and until they know the status of those with fee blocks.
Shabalala said classes started on Monday and that the intention in 2022 was to return to more face-to-face teaching while continuing to adhere to public health requirements.
UCT students continued with their protest, claiming that the university did not fulfil its promise of ensuring that all students were registered by Monday. #FeeExclusion#studentprotest
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