Durban - The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) is set to meet members of the Student Representative Council (SRC) tomorrow(Thursday) to resolve issues as protest action has disrupted lectures at the institution.
Students continued with the second day of protests yesterday, saying they were aggrieved that more than 2 000 students had yet to be allocated accommodation at residences, and over the National Student Financial Aid Scheme’s (NSFAS) accommodation cap, which has been reduced to R45 000 per student.
Students protested over similar issues at Wits University last week and at UCT last month, leading to the Department of Higher Education setting up a committee to find solutions.
Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation Dr Blade Nzimande said that following a meeting with Universities SA (USAf) on Saturday, the department would establish a committee comprising itself, USAf, and the vice-chancellors from all the affected institutions to address student cases affected by the NSFAS R45 000 student accommodation cap.
Nzimande said the committee would meet this week to look at cases and practical solutions.
Last Thursday Wits university announced it had suspended a group it said were instigators of the disruption, after violent protests at the university, which spread to the Joburg CBD.
UKZN SRC spokesperson Yaya Mnikwa said the R45 000 cap was unfair. Mnikwa said they had shut down the university’s five campuses due to ongoing issues, including the allocation of students who had qualified for residential accommodation, but had been left in limbo.
“The main problem we have here in UKZN is accommodation, as the university cannot outsource more residences outside the campus. On Monday we handed over a memorandum to the university, mainly over residence issues. I can say that about 30% of our student population is without accommodation, many of them are sleeping outside the gates, some in libraries,” he said.
Mnikwa said the university responded to the memorandum and said it would meet them regarding the accommodation issues.
UKZN executive director of corporate relations, Normah Zondo, said despite the disruptive protest action, the university management was engaging with student leadership on these and other matters raised.
She said they were committed to the consultation process and making every effort to resolve matters amicably.
Zondo confirmed that all residences under their control were now full and students who still required accommodation were being encouraged to seek accommodation at private residences.
“The University of KwaZulu-Natal is firmly committed to ensuring that all students have access to safe and adequate accommodation.
“However, the university’s approved allocation of 19 550 beds for the 2023 academic year versus the high number of enrolments means that it is not possible to provide accommodation for every registered student in the university’s residences,” said Zondo.