Minister Nzimande statement following the meeting with the University of Zululand management and student formations held at Protea Fire and Ice Hotel at Mhlanga Ridge in Durban
Ladies and gentlemen
Members of the media
Good Afternoon
I have decided to call this media briefing following my meeting with the management and students’ formations of the University of Zululand.
The reason I met with student political formation is that currently the university has no Student Representative Council, which is a matter I will address later in this statement.
The meeting today follows the recent protest at the University of Zululand, which resulted in the unfortunate burning of the university property and private property.
Violent incidences experienced at the University of Zululand includes amongst others, the torching of the police and university vehicle, the torching of the SSD Building and the use of intimidation and inflammatory language against other students and staff. There was also an attacked on the current SRC Administrator of the university.
In response to this situation, the university decided to suspend academic activities and ultimately shutting-down the university.
Following these violent incidences, I would like to restate my condemnation to violence that characterized the student protest at this university and other universities and TVET Colleges throughout our country.
These instances of violence and provides no solution to student concerns but rather delay the implementation of the agreements reached with students, through the South African Union of Students.
There are reports of corruption and maladministration that has been reported. I will engage all stakeholders on this.
On the Friday, 31st January 2020, I met with the South African Union of Students (SAUS) to discuss a framework on student financial support and to discuss matters raised by SAUS in their Memorandum submitted to me.
It is in the meeting with the South African Union of Students (SAUS), which represents all SRC of Universities, where SAUS agreed to call off the national shutdown with immediate effect in the wake of the common understanding and agreements reached in the meeting.
We agreed with SAUS and USA that institutional matters will be dealt with at institutional level, however my door as a Minister and that of my Department will always be open for further consultation.
Our meeting today was guided by the agreed framework as agreed with SAUS.
The framework includes amongst others, the NSFAS allocations, Student Accommodation and the Safety, Security on Campus.
What is also important from this meeting is that there was a general agreement by both the parties to recommit to urgent engagements on the challenges at the institution, particularly in relation to the reported academic and financial exclusions of students and the closure of the university.
We agreed that I will facilitate engagements between Council and student representatives.
Election of the Student Representative Council (SRC)
The absence of the SRC is compounding the problem in the institution. We agreed with all sides that processes must be put in place to re-establish the SRC.
National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS)
I am going to spend some time on the issues that affects NSFAS and its allowances.
I must commend the University for paying student allowances on time. This is an achievement that we welcome and I must also indicated that this has been a trend even in some of the universities and colleges throughout the country.
The meeting agreed that with immediate effect, there should be a process to categorise students who have been academically and financially excluded. This process will then lead to the finalization of the registration process for these categories of student.
I would like to restate what I said on my media briefing on the 26th February, that our funding guidelines provides for the implementation parameters for the 2020 DHET bursary scheme, and sets out the high-level policy applicable to the scheme, including the roles and responsibilities of students, universities and NSFAS.
For contact university students qualifying for the DHET bursary scheme in 2020, the following applies:
All students receive support for the full actual tuition fee subject to the agreed sector increases for 2019, paid to the relevant university;
All students receive a learning materials allowance, paid on an annual basis. For 2020, the allowance will be R5 200 per student. This amount is paid in cash to students to allow for student choice in determining their needs;
Students in university owned and managed catering residences receive support for the full residence cost including catering (this amount is paid directly to the institution), as well as the incidental allowance;
In 2020 the incidental allowance will be R290 per month for the ten months of the academic year. For other students, the incidental allowance is incorporated into the living allowance;
Students in university owned and managed self-catering residences receive support for the full residence cost (paid directly to the institution) and receive the living allowance, which is R1500 per month for the ten months of the academic year;
Students living in accredited off-campus accommodation, that is, the accommodation has been formally accredited by the institution, receive the cost of accommodation plus the living allowance. It is assumed that transport is included in the cost of accommodation, as is the practice in most institutions. A lease agreement is a necessary pre-condition for receiving this funding;
Students living in non-accredited accommodation, which could include a family home, the home of a relative or any other form of accommodation that is not formally accredited, receive the living allowance (R1500) and a transport allowance (R750 per month in 2020). These students can make their own decisions about how to best utilise the allowances.
Closure of the University
The meeting agreed that the meeting with Council must discuss all outstanding issues, including the reopening of the university and the return of stability at the university.
Of importance, is the need for all role players to work together to identify problems and seek to resolve them timeously and at an institutional level.
Enquiries:
Ishmael Mnisi
Cell: 0660378859
E-mail: Ishmael.Mnisi@dst.gov.za
