TUT vice-chancellor defends shutdown
Recent violent protests and property damage at the Tshwane University of Technology’s Soshanguve campuses mmade the temporary closure critical, Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Prof Lourens van Staden said.
|||Pretoria – Given the recent history of violent protests and damage to property at the Tshwane University of Technology’s Soshanguve campuses, provisionally shutting down the troubled premises was critical, Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Prof Lourens van Staden said on Thursday.
“If you look at what happened in 2014, when similar protests happened, 19 cars were set alight and some of our buildings were set alight last year and the year before. We have discovered the risk in protecting our property and more importantly protecting life. At any given time, a student or staff member could die during petrol bombs and arson,” Van Staden told reporters at the TUT Pretoria West campus.
“Myself and the management team have the responsibility to look after this national asset. We decided to close undergraduate activities to basically to guarantee the safety of our students, staff and our buildings.”
During the recent protests at the Soshanguve campuses, Van Staden said there was an attempt to set the library alight.
The issue of campus violence was tabled at a meeting of the senate three days ago and it was decided that academic activities at the Soshanguve campuses be suspended. Classes are scheduled to resume on April 5. The institution’s main campus in Pretoria would not be affected by the month-long closure.
“The fact that we are closing and we will lose about a month (of academic activities), we will remedy that by not going on the June recess. We have agreed with staff and students,” said Van Staden.
He said the university has realised that there are “external political issues and individuals hijacking students’ challenges for their own agendas”.
“Some of the protesters want us to enroll students that are not academically deserving, who do not meet the entrance requirements at the university. We cannot enroll people who are academically excluded due to non-performance. We have limited space at the university,” said Van Staden.
“I need to put it on record that the current deputy president of the local SRC (Sthembiso Shandu) is not a registered student of this university as we speak.”
Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Prof Stanley Mukhola said people like Shandu were fooling TUT students.
“He completed his diploma in journalism and was trying to find space in public management. If you check our curriculum for journalism and public management, the two are not compatible. There is no way you can move from a diploma in journalism to do a BTech Public Management,” said Mukhola.
“The young man claims he is registered but I can emphatically indicate that he is not a registered student of TUT. For him there is nothing to lose, he can go out and fool our young people as if he is a student.”
On Tuesday, Shandu told reporters at the Soshanguve South campus that despite an instruction for students to vacate the premises, the majority would not leave.
“We are advising the vice-chancellor (Van Staden) that you cannot calm the university by force. You are not solving the situation but making it worse. The vice-chancellor must know that this is not his tuck-shop but a national asset. This decision is going to destroy the image of our university,” said Shandu.
Several higher education institutions in Pretoria have seen by protests against outsourcing in recent weeks. The institutions obtained court interdicts barring protests at campuses.
On Tuesday, some students were carrying large bags out of the university campus. Several armed guards were at the main entrances and numerous police officers were near the scene.
Shandu said the students protest had been peaceful.
African News Agency
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