UJ is geared up for new year

AS REGISTRATION gets under way today, the University of Johannesburg (UJ) has implemented a number of measures to ensure that its almost 50 000 students are able to benefit from a smooth and productive start to the new academic year.

Designed to ensure that all students are able to access libraries, lectures, seminars, laboratories and other learning spaces, the measures would be as unobtrusive and as business-like as possible, the university said in a statement yesterday.

It would apply to all staff, students and visitors to the university in the interests of all for whom the university was a place of learning, debate, enquiry and empowerment.

“UJ appeals to all students, staff and visitors to continue to support the security staff in ensuring that the university remains free of disruptions and a place conducive to learning and teaching.”

As part of ensuring a smooth beginning to the academic year, registration fees had to be paid by all students starting or resuming their studies. Financial assistance would be available to those students from the poorest backgrounds who were able to show they could not afford the registration fees.

“The business of the university is the empowerment of individuals, families and communities through academic study leading to concrete, sought-after qualifications, and we are proud of the thousands of graduates we have, in the first decade of our existence, assisted in setting a successful compass for the future,” said UJ vice-chancellor and principal Professor Ihron Rensburg.

“We are determined that we will again in 2016 make a positive difference to the lives of many thousands of young people, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

“To do so, we are determined that learning and teaching will proceed as planned from the first day of the semester,” he said.

Access would be granted to all first-year students as soon as they had finalised their registration, so that they could collect their student cards.

With the exception of National Student Financial Aid Scheme-qualifying students, all students would in 2016 again be required to pay registration and student fees.

This was one of the important revenue streams that ensured the university could remain financially viable and able to do its job of empowering thousands of young people.

UJ recognised that not everybody could afford university fees and would continue its support via the student representative council (SRC) trust fund, which had been increased significantly for 2016 to accommodate up to 15 000 students – three times the number in past years – who could not afford to pay their registration fees.