The University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg has rejected claims that it is run “apartheid-style”.
The claim was made by Feziwe Ndwayana in an interview with SABC News on Sunday.
“It’s an apartheid-style-run institution. The doors in certain areas are closed in post-grad spaces and other offices that we’ve attempted to go to, they are no-go areas, essentially. The system is very violent,” she said.
She is one of a number of students currently on a hunger strike to show solidarity with students who are unable to register due to their outstanding bills.
On Monday, Tiisang Monatisa, communications officer at the university, told Salaamedia this was “completely untrue”.
She said the university had “an obligation to ensure the safety and security of our staff, students and visitors”, although “there are no police or private security on campus” at this point.
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Hunger strike
Students began a hunger strike on Friday, with the hope of getting the university to accede to their demand that every student, regardless of the amount owed, should be able to register to continue studying.
The university is owed a R1.6 billion in student debt, both from current and former students. Financially excluded students are required to pay 50% of their outstanding fees. The registration deadline is 21 February.
Existing support schemes, such as the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), have failed to address financial exclusion even a decade after #FeesMustFall protests swept through the country.
“Black poor students did not choose their position. Education is not a privilege, it is a right. Something has to be done. It’s 10 years after Fees Must Fall, and yet things remain the same,” said Ndwayana.
However, Monatisa denied Ndwayana’s claim that students were not free to express disagreement without being “met with violence”.
She stressed: “Wits University advocates for human rights and fully supports students’ right to freedom of expression. Students have a right to protest as long as it does not impede on the rights of other students to learn, and that it does not impact on the University’s other activities”.
