Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Elated Maties win some victories
Exams postponed
AS CALM slowly returned to Stellenbosch University late yesterday, the management of the institution announced that the start of final exams would be postponed by a week. This includes all exams, assessments and assignments, the university said in a statement.
The news came after Professor Wim de Villiers, rector and vice-chancellor, announced the university would apply for an interdict to have students removed from the administration building be lifted.
Addressing a large group of protesting students, De Villiers said the university supported student demand for no fee increase and management would discuss the impact of President Jacob Zuma’s announcement about that.
Meanwhile, students have said they are not celebrating the announcement as the issue of outsourcing at universities had yet to be addressed.
SRC chairman for transformation Bradley Frolick said the announcement was only a first step towards victory. “What we want ultimately is free higher education in our lifetime.”
Frolick said the government should release the No Varsity Fee report which was handed to Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande in 2012.
Nzimande’s spokesman, Khaye Nkwanyana, did not respond to questions concerning the report, a feasibility study into providing free higher education.
Another student activist, Simone Cupido, said there was a feeling of happiness among students, but that they were acutely aware there was more to be done.
“We are now focusing on providing support fellow students at UWC and all other students requiring legal and psychological support,” she said.
Earlier in the day, hundreds of students gathered to demand answers, accusing the university management of obtaining a court interdict before listening to them, and of doing so irregularly.
The university was closed yesterday afternoon.
Student activist Faith Pienaar, addressing the crowd on the corner of Merriman and Rhyneveld streets yesterday, complained university management had not taken responsibility for police brutality against students on the campus. “Stellenbosch University is a public university and is part of the national narrative.”
Later the students marched to the Stellenbosch Police Station to demand the release of two students who were detained during the gathering. The students were released after paying fines of R800 each.
De Villiers, who was out of the country during the week, said he had cut short his trip to attend to the situation.
Students said he was in London at the invitation of university chancellor Johan Rupert to watch the Rugby World Cup semi-final. But De Villiers said that he was attending to university matters, including fundraising at Oxford and other European universities.
Western Cape premier Helen Zille had to be escorted from a student protest yesterday morning.
The crowds turned on her, shouting: “Voetsek, you aren’t here for us. Leave.”
Zille was whisked away in a police van, students said.
Later on Twitter however, Zille denied she had been forced to leave, saying: “I was walking peacefully with students after they asked me to.”