Fort Hare students continue stay away as talks deadlock

University of Fort Hare students are this morning carrying on with a stayaway as a meeting between SRC and management reached deadlock yesterday.

The two parties met to discus a way forward regarding the issues if nursing sciences department that has seen disruption of academic programmes in the entire East London campus.

SRC president Mosuli Cwele said they wanted the management to uplift the suspension of three nursing students who were suspended when nursing students demonstrated against removal of their head of department. 

“Our argument was that, the management must allow the students back to class while they continue with disciplinary hearing, but they refused,” he said. 

He said students were still on a stayaway as there had been no mass meeting with students to inform them to go back. 

“We want to have this matter resolved as soon as possible, but by the look of this the management is not willing to have this back to normal. The time is not on our side, students were supposed to be busy preparing for the end-of-year examination, but we have a management that does not care about the future of the students,” he said. 

Cwele said they were considering having a mediator.

Yesterday a group of students that were singing approaching the campus were dispersed by police using rubber bullets. 

University spokesperson Khotso Moabi was not immediately available for comment.