UKZN: Students spark ‘Fees Must Fall’ protests, demand scrapping of debt [video]

Students from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) have disrupted registration proceedings at the Howard campus, on Monday.

UKZN protests: Why are students protesting?

Campus private security and public order police were seen monitoring the unrest at the Howard campus. In the final weeks of orientation and late registrations, some students were unable to submit their information and make payments due to the unrest.

The situation remains tense at #UKZN as students have shutdown the Howard campus. Students have reaffirmed their call for #FeesMustFall – saying returning students are required to pay 15% of their historic debt before being allowed to register. @TimesLIVE #UKZNShutdown pic.twitter.com/6gs3TKVxSC

— Orrin Singh (@orrin417) January 27, 2020

It is believed that a large group of returning students has disrupted proceedings after they were told that those with historical debt had to pay at least 15% of the total amount to qualify for registration.

UKZN students have made it clear that they cannot afford this and that the promises of free higher education, once made by former president Jacob Zuma, need to be kept by the government.

Assisting students of UKZN sort out their registration and housing situations. pic.twitter.com/MchscDFrSI

— iThubaLakusasa (@iThuba_Lakusasa) January 27, 2020

Chairman of the Howard College Representative Council, Mphathi Majola, told reporters that all activities on the campus have been cancelled until further notice.

“The process of orientation has been halted. Primarily, [it’s] because of the concerns that students have. [A] majority of the students haven’t been able to register because of the fact that student are now required to pay 15% of their historic debt before they are cleared for registration,” Majola explained.

The council chairman further revealed that the reality is that a majority of the students do not have that kind of money.

“Part of the battle here is the issue of financial exclusion. So, once we are able to deal with that issue all other issues are secondary,” he added.

There are other factors to these protests, Majola continued. He noted that besides the issue regarding the 15% historic debt repayment that’s in contention, most students are still struggling with securing on-campus accommodation.

“There are secondary issues like residences, as well as the issue of post-graduate intakes. But, the starting point is to get the issue of financial clearance out of the way because a majority of the students are not registered primarily because they are owing,” Majola stated.

No agreements have been made with UKZN management as yet and by the look of things, the protests are likely to continue for the most part of the day.