Students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Westville campus warned that the campus would not be fully functional until demands for free education had been met.
|||Durban – Students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Westville campus warned on Friday, that the campus would not be fully functional until demands for free education had been met.
About 300 students marched and protested on the field inside The Oval residence at the Westville campus under the watchful eye of the police.
After obtaining assurances from police that they would not be shot and giving assurances that media and police would not be on the receiving end of a pelting of stones, student leaders spoke to the media.
Student activist Muzuzu Mhlongo said: “The campus will never operate until we get free education.”
He said that it was not just a case of a zero fee increment, but that there should be no fees for all students.
Fellow student activist Londiwe Makhanya also urged the “demilitarisation”of the campus, claiming that students used stones as a “defence mechanisation”. She said that students would not destroy their own campus if police were not there.
She said the government had been made aware of the demands of the students, but that it was now time for the students to implement the demands.
Banda Lukhanyo Mtsingana, a former Student Representative Council president for the Westville campus who was arrested last year in connection with the arson attack that gutted the campus’ administration building, said the campus was devoid of students because they were scared of the police.
He said the university also needed to rid itself of the current vice chancellor.
“We have a problem with a very racist [Vice-Chancellor] VC [Albert] van Jaarsveldt.”
He said that for the first time female students from the university had been arrested under Van Jaarsveldt’s watch.
He accused the university of promoting xenophobia by using a security company Mi7, which employed other Africans, to control student violence.
“They send our own Africans to brutalise us,” he said to loud cheers.
After a bit more singing students slowly dispersed as police watched them go on their way.
University spokesman Lesiba Seshoka said there was attempt to disrupt lectures and tests on the university’s Howard College campus using fire extinguishers and fire crackers.
“The students were handed over to [South African Police Service] SAPS Umbilo, who subsequently released them,” he said.
He said that three people were arrested at the Pietermaritzburg campus after their vehicle was intercepted. There was seven litres of petrol in bottles in their car.
Two of those arrested were students. A fourth is on the run.
He said that there was a low student turnout at the Westville campus on Friday, which was largely peaceful.
African News Agency