Health MEC, Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo commends UKZN Vice Chancellor, Prof Makgoba for agreeing to admit a medical student who claims to have been barred on racial lines
Some sections of the media have carried out a story that a student was refused admission as a medical student at the Nelson Mandela School of Medicine due to the fact that she was Indian.
MEC Dhlomo then met with the College’s Vice Chancellor, Prof Makgoba, this morning and the issue was resolved. The girl will now be registered. Dhlomo profusely thanked Makgoba for his understanding on the matter and says this gesture is in accordance with the prescripts of the Freedom Charter which says: "doors of learning and culture shall be opened to all.’’
Makgoba was also praised for his understanding in letting the students who owe the University, register for the 2014 Academic Year.
The students had earlier in the day embarked on a strike demanding to be registered. They met with MEC Dhlomo who upon understanding that the issue was about the last year’s fees that they owed, undertook to discuss their plight with the Vice Chancellor. This situation affected students whose level of study ranged between 1st and the 5th years.
A solution to this impulse came about when Dhlomo made a commitment that through the department’s bursary scheme, the fees owed for last year would be settled. He requested that a list of those owing and the appropriate sums be prepared and send to the department for consideration.
Dhlomo then made an impassionate plea to the former students of the Nelson Mandela School of Medicine to come forward and create a fund that would assist students from the disadvantaged backgrounds: ‘This step will go a long way in producing large numbers of doctors willing to serve in the rural areas especially now that the University has agreed to increase the number of students who come from disadvantaged communities, especially the Africans.’
Registration of the students is now set to resume and the student who was barred is also free to enrol now.
For clarity, please contact:
Desmond Motha
Cell: 083 295 3901
