Committee welcomes investigations into racist incident
The Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training have welcomed the parallel probes on the racist incident at the University of Free State by the South African Police Service and South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) which is the key custodian of human rights in the country.
The Committee believes the involvement and investigations currently conducted by the two agencies will assist in finding the long-lasting solution to these persistent acts of intolerance and hatred among racial groups.
The Committee Chairperson, Adv. Ishmael Malale said they believe these parallel probes will help to restore the image of the University and the academic environment in general. “As the country we still have a long way to eradicate these traumatic racial discrimination practices, unless we join hands as the society to say enough is enough,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Committee also welcomed the announcement by the University of KwaZulu-Natal to overturn their earlier decision and reinstate two medical students whose applications for admission were marred by technical errors on their race. “Much as we say no one should be financially or racially excluded, the Committee equally maintain that no student should suffer the consequences of the administrative errors or blunders committed by the institutions.
“We are also proud to mention that through our intervention this year at Rhodes University which admitted a number of late applicants who have performed well in grade 12 but financially needy, the NSFAS has heeded our call and allocated additional amount of R4 million to ensure that students are provided with all necessary academic support,” said Adv. Ishmael Malale.
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Foster Mohale (Mr)
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