‘Tuks move a bid to silence #FeesMustFall activism’

THE University of Pretoria will not budge from its stance to force students facing criminal cases to justify their re-admission to the institution this year.

This is despite stinging criticism levelled against the institution by student representative bodies branding the move a bid to silence student activism at the campus.

Letters were sent to implicated students last week, asking them to give reasons why their application for re-registration at Tuks should be considered favourably.

The students were arrested over violence during #FeesMustFall protests last year, and still have court processes pending.

At the time, students had embarked on protests and disrupted academic activities.

The protests were characterised by violent confrontations between the police and the protesting students.

In the letters, which the Cape Times sister newspaper the Pretoria News has seen, they are required to give their undertaking to avoid similar incidents this year.

The deadline was yesterday, and they were allowed to make representations to university management.

The majority of the 40 students who received letters had responded, university spokesperson Candice Jooste said. “We have received a number of submissions from students already.

Those with satisfactory academic records will be allowed to continue with their registration.”

She said the majority of those who responded had already registered.

“The few who have poor records will be able to follow the university’s formal academic appeals process as is the case with all under-performing students,” Jooste said.

The university still hoped that the remaining students would respond.

“This is not a punitive process,” Jooste said.

Replying to criticism that the move by the university was meant to silence student activism, she said: “The university cannot act outside the ambit of the law. We require students to do the same.”

The EFF Student Command believed the intention was to make sure that there was no #FeesMustFall protests this year.

However, the South African Students Congress said there had been other instances where the university had asked students to explain why they should be re-registered.

South African Student Union general-secretary Sthembiso Ndlovu said: “We will meet the president of the SRC tomorrow in order to find a long-lasting solution to the problem.

“We just hope students did not write those letters.”