In-person classes have been suspended at Sol Plaatje University for the rest of the week due to protest action.
IN-PERSON classes have been suspended at Sol Plaatje University for the rest of the week due to protest action where students blocked the main entrances on the north and central campuses on Wednesday.
Students cited a shortage of accommodation facilities, the quality of the food and mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations as some of their grievances.
Vaccination sites have been set up on campus to encourage vaccination, where a directive was given that anyone entering the premises should provide proof of vaccination.
The vice-chancellor, Professor Andrew Crouch, indicated on Monday that proof of vaccination status or a letter of exemption based on medical, religious or legally accepted grounds had to be submitted no later than Monday February 28.
He said that if an exemption was not granted, the applicant would be expected to comply and vaccinate within seven days of the decision of the vaccination exemption committee (VEC).
“An applicant has the right to appeal to myself within seven days after receipt of the decision of the VEC.”
Everyone on campus was instructed to always wear a N95 mask or a three-ply mask, sanitise and conduct safety screening at access points.
National Education Health and Allied Workers Union regional secretary Moleme Moleme stated that they were against workers and students being forced to be vaccinated.
“The majority of ancillary workers such as garden workers, kitchen staff, security and cleaners have not vaccinated out of choice, religious reasons or otherwise. By implication it means that they may lose their employment if they are not at their posts after 30 days because it is impossible for them to work from home.”
Moleme added that should the court case to prevent mandatory vaccinations at the University of Johannesburg and the University of the Free State succeed, it could not be implemented at Sol Plaatje University.
“Nehawu has joined the application as friends of the court. The union is pro-choice and citizens have a constitutional right to make their own decisions.”
EFF SPU branch secretary Katlego Tanke said classes were disrupted on Wednesday as they wanted all students to take part in the protest.
“Classes were supposed to start today and may not resume next week if our grievances are not resolved.”
South African Students Congress provincial secretary Lesego Melesi said classes would only resume if students were able to choose if they wanted to be vaccinated, adequate accommodation was provided for students and students with historical debts were exempted from paying the R5,000 registration fee.
“First-year students are being forced to vaccinate when they register. We do not know how many are still in need of accommodation because they are still taking in new registrations. The shortage of accommodation affects mainly first-year students, where many are not residing in Kimberley.”
She added that while temporary accommodation was provided, it was not conducive for studying as students could be “put out of their rooms at any time”.
Patrick Bosiame from the Young Communist League added that due to high data costs, students found it difficult to study online.
“During the national lockdown students were given 10 gigs of data but now if they do online studies they have to fund their own data or wi-fi. Many students received National Student Financial Aid Scheme bursaries and do not have the means to buy data that is very expensive. Mandatory vaccinations are a form of dictatorship where people are not given the freedom of choice. Being vaccinated only prevents severe illness and vaccinated people can still contract Covid-19, spread the virus and become ill.”
He pointed out that many of the vaccines were reaching their expiry date.
“Government is under pressure to use these vaccines and now students are being forced to take them.”
Some of the students indicated that they had been vaccinated against their will as they wanted to attend classes.
“We wouldn’t have been vaccinated if we were given the choice. There is not much research on the long term side effects of the vaccine and its effectiveness. Everyone will react differently to the vaccine and the choices that we can make regarding our bodies are not being respected. We are just guinea pigs. There have been a spate of people collapsing in the street and dying. Who knows if this is not a side-effect of the vaccine?”
Students also complained about the catering which they believed was below standard.
“Hospital food is better than what we are served. We don’t have money to buy our own food so we go hungry if we can’t eat the food in the cafeteria. We had pap, a Russian and gravy for supper the other evening. It does not taste good.”
Senior manager in the office of the vice-chancellor Kashini Maistry indicated that management of the university was engaged with the student representative council (SRC) about concerns around student accommodation, catering, students who are blocked from registering due to outstanding fees, and a range of other minor issues.
“Management has responded to a memorandum of demands that was submitted earlier this week.
“The protest action this morning was not sanctioned by the SPU SRC and seems to be linked to the annual disruptions to the academic year in the higher education sector that has been prevalent for a number of years.
“SPU staff have been advised to work from home today.”
She added that they were concerned regarding reports that security and personnel were intimidated.
“These acts of intimidation are not only hindering the academic project and the operations of the university, but indeed infringe on the constitutional rights of these individuals. Staff and students should report acts of intimidation to campus security. These acts of intimidation will be investigated and where there is clear evidence, appropriate and immediate disciplinary action will follow.”
Maistry stated that the university had already made a concession to delay the start of the academic year from February 21 to February 23.
“No further delays to the start of the academic year will be countenanced. Teaching and learning will continue online for the remainder of this week and all university meetings or engagements will also be held online. Online classes will continue for the remainder of this week, the blended mode of teaching and learning will commence on Monday February 26.”
She indicated that a resolution regarding the accommodation of first-year students would be communicated in due course.
