Of the 1,050 international students at the University of Fort Hare, almost half do not have study permits.
More than 400 international students currently registered at UFH, are without the required paperwork, said interim registrar Patrick Osode.
As a result, they will be temporarily blocked from registering for the 2019 academic year, he added.
In an interim memorandum sent to staff and students on Thursday, Osode stated that over the past 10 months, the university had been put under immense pressure by the department of home affairs due to the high levels of non-compliance in registering and permitting international students.
Osode said 40% of the international students did not have appropriate immigration status and documentation to lawfully undertake undergraduate or postgraduate studies in SA.
“To force compliance by higher education institutions, home affairs has introduced new regulations by which substantial financial penalties will be levied on higher education institutions – per student – for a case of non-compliance,” said Osode.
UFH announced it would introduce control measures, starting in 2019. These include:
Blocking all current international students from registering manually or online for the 2019 academic year. The “blocked” status would be lifted upon producing a clearance document from the office of international affairs; and
New international students would only be registered upon producing a registration clearance from the university’s office of international affairs.
The university has extended the deadline for registration to April 5 to accommodate those who might have pending applications at home affairs.
The university’s spokesperson Khotso Moabi said a decision was made by the previous management to admit and register these students because of the slow pace of the visa applications and selection system.
At the time of writing on Friday afternoon, the Eastern Cape provincial home affairs co-ordinator, Siya Majakajaka, had not responded to the Dispatch’s questions on the matter...