15/09/09
STATEMENT BY THE
SOUTH AFRICAN UNION OF STUDENTS (SAUS) ON THE STUDENTS STRIKE AT WITS.
The South
African Union of Students (SAUS) notes with disdain the arrogant manner
in which the institutional management of the University of the
Witwatersrand (Wits) has responded to the grievances of students. We
remain disgusted by the sheer arrogance of the Vice Chancellor in his
refusal to collect a memorandum from students during the strike.
Fee
increments:
Wits
management is hiking the 2010 tuition fees by 9%- 15% across faculties,
residence fees by 18%, and a further increment on the upfront payment
to R6 600, as endorsed by the soon to be outgoing Student
Representative Council (SRC). As a national Union of students’
representing the needs, concerns and aspirations of all students
throughout the country within our institutions of higher learning and
the Further Education and Training Sector, we view this move by Wits
management as regressive and anti- transformation. We
remain convinced that Wits management has a long-held agenda of
ensuring that Wits continues to be preserved as a destination for the
rich, at the expense of the working class and poor within the country.
We equally condemn the soon to be outgoing SRC for its reckless
handling of increments, and endorsing these disregarding the refusal
from the student populace.
Mid year
academic exclusions:
We further
note that the institution has academically excluded 1200 first year
students mid year without providing sufficient academic support to them
ensuring they acclimatize to the higher learning environment. It is
equally prudent to note that a majority of those excluded are
predominantly black and from the Engineering and Built Environment
faculty, a faculty within Wits that has done away with a lot of its
foundation classes; these formed part of academic support and ensured a
through understanding of course work for first year students.
We
therefore call on the Minister of Higher Education to intervene with
immediate effect, and chop the monstrous arrogance of Wits management
to size. We further call on the Minister to cap all fee increments
within institutions, in line within government’s objective of
progressingly introducing free education for the poor until
undergraduate level. The capping of fees must therefore form part of
the path towards the attainment of this noble goal. In
closing; we condone the recklessness of the soon to be outgoing SRC,
and call on all students to ensure that they vote correctly within the
SRC elections that are taking place nationally.
FOR
MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Lazola
Ndamase: SAUS Dept President: 082
679 8718
Mbali
Hlophe: SAUS
Secretary- General: 083 378
7583
Bafana
Nhlapo: Incoming
Wits SRC President: 072 211 4378
--
Ms Mbali Hlophe
[email protected]
083 378 7583
