News24.com | Student protest comes as surprise to Wits University after financial 'concessions made'

• Wits students have protested over student accommodation and high fees.
• The protesters blocked off one of the campus entrances on Wednesday morning.
• The university said the protest came as a surprise, as it was working with the SRC to address the issues raised.

Students at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg protested on Wednesday morning, reportedly over several issues, including "financial exclusion".

In a statement, the university said additional security measures were put in place to manage the protest. It added that the academic programme would continue as scheduled.

The protesters were reportedly demanding that students with less than R150 000 debt be allowed to register and that the upfront fee for Wits residences be waived.

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They also called on the university to allocate more funds to accommodation for homeless students.

In a series of social media posts, the Wits Student Representative Council (SRC) said the protest was being held for "students who haven't registered due to financial exclusion".

The SRC also said homeless students had resorted to sleeping in laboratories and libraries, and many others were attending classes on "an empty stomach".

The university said it had "progressively increased the amount of funding allocated to students", having disbursed over R1.6 billion to 26 161 students last year.

"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 (Tuesday), 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."

They added:

The university said it committed R28 million (increased from R10 million) to the Wits Hardship [Fund] this year, and that to date, more than 500 students had been funded at a cost of R18.1 million. 

It added that an additional 350 beds had been secured from accredited private accommodation service providers to assist students in need, including those sleeping in libraries and other spaces.

"A number of other concessions have also been made, including allowing students who owe R10 000 or less to register, allowing students whose total household income is below R600 000 to apply for registration assistance by paying 50% of the outstanding debt due and by making an arrangement to pay the balance of the debt during the course of the academic year, and allowing students who owe R15 000 or less to graduate," the university said.