By SINO MAJANGAZA and SIMTHANDILE FORD
University of Fort Hare management and student leaders were locked in a meeting until late yesterday to resolve the accommodation impasse at its East London campus.
The academic programme is yet to start at the East London campus due to student protest action. They are fighting for more than 400 registered students that are without accommodation, two weeks after the academic year was meant to kick-off.
UFH staff yesterday once again moved from their workstations as students moved from one building to the next, singing struggle songs.
SRC secretary Ahlomile Mafu vowed they would continue with the class boycott until every student had accommodation.
“We had a meeting with the management on Tuesday afternoon. They promised to allocate 123 students , but when we arrived at the residence office today they told us that they do not know anything about that.”
Late yesterday students with allocated rooms vowed to abandon their quarters and sleep outside university buildings in solidarity with those who are yet to be allocated rooms.
By 7pm last night hundreds of students were gathered outside the university’s main building.
Sisipho Kwababa, from Cape Town, said she had been waiting for accommodation since January 18.
“I am sharing a double room with nine other students. Can you imagine how bad that is? It is not safe, it is unhealthy. We want the university to provide us with accommodation.”
SRC president Njongo Baliso, from the main campus in Alice, had blankets and warm clothes in preparation for a night on the street.
At 3pm, when student leaders and university management met to discuss the impasse, university spokesman Khotso Moabi said they were disappointed with how the students were dealing with the matter.
“Once again today staff were intimidated and forced to leave their workstations. The university condemns this action in the strongest terms,” he said.
At the time of writing yesterday, the outcome of this meeting was still unknown.
l At Walter Sisulu University lectures in some courses have yet to start. Spokeswoman Yonela Tukwayo, said there had been some glitches with registration systems which “resulted in slight delays”.
UFH accommodation standoff action continues
University of Fort Hare management and student leaders were locked in a meeting until late yesterday to resolve the accommodation impasse at its East London campus.
The academic programme is yet to start at the East London campus due to student protest action. They are fighting for more than 400 registered students that are without accommodation, two weeks after the academic year was meant to kick-off.
UFH staff yesterday once again moved from their workstations as students moved from one building to the next, singing struggle songs.
SRC secretary Ahlomile Mafu vowed they would continue with the class boycott until every student had accommodation.
“We had a meeting with the management on Tuesday afternoon. They promised to allocate 123 students , but when we arrived at the residence office today they told us that they do not know anything about that.”
Late yesterday students with allocated rooms vowed to abandon their quarters and sleep outside university buildings in solidarity with those who are yet to be allocated rooms.
By 7pm last night hundreds of students were gathered outside the university’s main building.
Sisipho Kwababa, from Cape Town, said she had been waiting for accommodation since January 18.
“I am sharing a double room with nine other students. Can you imagine how bad that is? It is not safe, it is unhealthy. We want the university to provide us with accommodation.”
SRC president Njongo Baliso, from the main campus in Alice, had blankets and warm clothes in preparation for a night on the street.
At 3pm, when student leaders and university management met to discuss the impasse, university spokesman Khotso Moabi said they were disappointed with how the students were dealing with the matter.
“Once again today staff were intimidated and forced to leave their workstations. The university condemns this action in the strongest terms,” he said.
At the time of writing yesterday, the outcome of this meeting was still unknown.
l At Walter Sisulu University lectures in some courses have yet to start. Spokeswoman Yonela Tukwayo, said there had been some glitches with registration systems which “resulted in slight delays”.
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