UKZN, student reps in discussions following violent protests
The University of KwaZulu-Natal says it will be monitoring all of its campuses while it engages Westville campus student representatives on the root cause of the recent violent protest that saw university vehicles and buildings petrol bombed.
Briefing the media earlier this afternoon at the Westville campus, UKZN Vice-Chancellor Albert van Jaarsveld said they are hoping that lectures will resume as normal tomorrow after a two day suspension.
Van Jaarsveld says although there has been speculation about the reasons behind the protest they are still to establish what the students’ grievances are as university management.
He says they are hoping their discussions with student representatives will allow them to get to bottom of the matter.
The Higher Education Department says the violence by the protesting students is unacceptable.
Spokesperson for the department Khaye Nkwanyana says they are encouraging management to address matters as and when they arise.
''When students request meetings to resolve issues, management must open its doors so that such issues are dealt with at the initial stage before they boil over into something that's unmanageable.
''We are happy with the response from the university's Vice-Chancellor and that today they are meeting with the SRC. We believe that this will bring this issue to an end in totality to the impasse,'' he said.
The ANC Youth League claims the protest is over a decision by the university's management to close the Registration Appeals Committee process. It says this will exclude students from disadvantaged communities.
(Photo via Twitter/KZNCommunityWatch)