DURBAN - FOUR campuses at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) are set to reopen today. They were closed following a violent student protest that took place last week.
Alan Khan, senior director of corporate affairs at DUT, said a decision to reopen the campuses came after the high court granted the university an interim interdict following the protest.
“The South African Police Services have also been notified about the latest court order. After evaluating the risks and taking into account the new interim order, DUT will reopen the four Durban campuses that were temporarily closed last week. Therefore, the Steve Biko Campus, Ritson Campus, ML Sultan Campus and City Campus will reopen on March 30.”
According to Sibongumenzi Mdlalose, the co-ordinator of the EFF Student Command (SC) in Durban, students had issues including:
- Problems related to registration.
- The demand for the absorption of Higher Certificate students.
- Problems pertaining to shortages of student accommodation and beds.
- National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) appeals.
- The fixing of the Student Representative Council (SRC) grants.
- The call for the reinstatement of physical graduations due to the eased Covid-19 restrictions.
Mdlalose said more decisive action would be taken should management not meet their demands.
“If an amicable solution is not reached then we will have to call for a total shutdown,” he stated.
However, he condemned the violence and damage to property that took place last week and refuted allegations that the EFF SC was linked to the violence. He said that they merely held a mass meeting to submit a memorandum of grievances to the university.
Khan said the university incurred damages during the protest as buildings and offices on the Steve Biko campus, M.L Sultan campus and City campus were damaged.
The protesters also smashed the windscreen of a vehicle belonging to a member of staff, while the protesters robbed one of the security officers of her cellphone and wallet and then robbed other security guards who were on duty at City Campus.
“Fortunately, no one was seriously physically injured; however, we did receive numerous reports of staff being emotionally traumatised. The university’s Employee Wellness Office is assisting staff who require professional support,” he added.
Khan said that a police investigation was under way to identify the perpetrators. He added that the political student organisations at DUT were aware that they must work with and via the SRC to raise their concerns.
“The SRC is the legitimate and statutory representative of students. There are established processes that must be followed and in this instance, that process was ignored. There are specific structures in place for regular and consistent engagement between management and the SRC.
“Last week during one of the planned scheduled meetings with the SRC, they confirmed to the Registrar that as the SRC, they had distanced themselves from the incident and condemned the violent protest.”
Management and the SRC are due to meet soon to discuss the contents of the memorandum further.
Provincial police spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbele said a case had been opened. “About 500 students stormed into the campus on March 24. A case of malicious damage to property was opened,” said Mbele.
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