By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Student Representative Council (SRC) at Wits University is heading a shutdown at the Yale Road entrance to the campus over demands to enable access to education.
The SRC has urged all affected students to join the action against the ‘systematic exclusion’ of learners who cannot afford to pay the R10 000 fee to access accommodation and for those not assisted by the Hardship Fund.
Wits SRC’s Vuyiswa Mochochoko says these students are all academically deserving to be part of the institutions.
“NSFAS students are unable to live in residences,” she says.
“They have been excluded by these government entities, so it’s a crisis,” Machokochoko adds.
Wits communications manager Shirona Patel says, “Additional security has been brought in to enable access to Wits’ campuses for staff and students and to ensure that staff and students are safe and that the academic programme continues.”
Patel said, “Wits is committed to enabling students to access higher education, as far as its resources allow. The university has progressively increased the amount of funding allocated to students. In 2022 Wits disbursed over R1.6 billion to 26 161 students.”
She explained that university management has been working with the SRC over the past few weeks to help secure funding, largely from the private sector to enable academically deserving students to access higher education.
“In fact, up until last night, officials were in contact with the SRC, trying to get as many qualifying students to register as possible. It, therefore, comes as a surprise that despite these arrangements and the working relationship which has been established, some members of the SRC and some students have elected to protest.
Wits has matched the R6.2 million brought in by the SRC rand for rand. In effect, there is a pot of R12.4 million available in the SRC Fund for qualifying students.”