Back to business for UFH – finally

The academic year has finally commenced at the University of Fort Hare’s East London campus, albeit under heavy security.

Students have been boycotting classes since the beginning of the year, demanding the university provides accommodation for more than 400 registered students who are still without accommodation.

There were disruptions in the morning as a group of students demonstrated outside the campus and burned tyres.

Police arrived and fired rubber bullets and teargas to disperse them.

By late afternoon, lectures started, but under heavy security.

University spokesman Khotso Moabi said: “There was a small incident but SAPS has addressed it.

“Lectures are continuing and normal business continues. The process of rigorous teaching and learning ensued to compensate for the time lost to the stayaway.”

Moabi added management would ensure that all the necessary security arrangements were in place to ensure the safety of staff and students.

“This has been achieved by way of securing a court interdict that prohibits the SRC and anyone acting as their agent, or in support of their action, from unlawful activities including disruption of academic activities and harassment of staff,” he said.

A mass meeting planned for yesterday was cancelled as no gathering of students was allowed on or around the campus.

SRC campus secretary Onelisa Mgoqi claimed that “there were classes that took place in the morning, but they were stopped”.

She said there were more than 450 students without accommodation.

Mgoqi said their lack of accommodation also meant students would not receive food allowances.

“The policy of NSFAS is clear – it provides meal allowances to students in residences or private accommodation,” she said.

Mgoqi said the issue of accommodation was a basic need.

She said students would be meeting to devise a plan.