Rhodes University students have rejected a call by the Grahamstown Ministers Fraternal for reconciliation with the university management.
Rhodes University students have rejected a call by the Grahamstown Ministers Fraternal for reconciliation with the university management.
The group – an interdenominational alliance of ministers from local churches – held a prayer for the fees protest at the St Mary's Chapel at Rhodes University yesterday afternoon.
A group of around 100 students attended the vigil and there were no disruptions. They held up placards inside the hall silently.
The bishops asked students and management to sit down and discuss the fees issue. But students rejected the proposal outright and said the university management was not willing to negotiate.
Addressing the gathering, Bishop of Grahamstown Ebenezer Ntlali said people must sit down and negotiate when there is a problem.
"South Africa has become one of the best countries when it comes to negotiations. Liberation in this country came through Codesa: people sitting down, negotiating and understanding one another.
"South Africa has been invited to many countries to come and mediate. It's going to be a long walk to come to the ultimate freedom. For us as a church we say enough is enough and we can't look at you and do nothing regarding the fees matter.
"May God bless you and may an amicable solution be reached," Ntlali said. "This university without you is not a university. It a university because of all the people that are part of it."
In an interview with Grocott's Mail, student Zuko Cawe said negotiations had been drawn out and the university management had been stubborn.
He said the university wanted to preserve the status quo whereby they benefit from the exploitation of poor students.
"Rhodes University insists on restarting the academic programme even if it means that the problem on campus regarding fees must fall and police brutality is not solved," Cawe said.
"What Rhodes does not understand is that we are currently in a time of crisis and they need to address the issues and demands that we gave them as a matter of urgency.
"And quite frankly that does not take long to do. All Dr Mabizela needs to do in response to our demands is to say yes.
"To my mind in a time of crisis, when you try and solve a problem, everything around you comes to a stop and the crisis becomes your priority and you focus your energy on solving that crisis before you start deviating and doing other things," said Cawe.
The students said it was a problem having the academic programme continue while problems on the campus had not been solved.
They said the university did not want to address their demands.
Cawe said they were disgusted that half an hour after students were shot at on campus (police fired rubber bullets at protesters on the Drostdy Lawns during a stand-off on Wednesday 28 September), they continued with the academic programme.
"They also pretend as if people are at risk because of a portion of a building that was burnt by something unknown.
"It was not even a successful burning. The building was not burnt: it was singed.
"The university definitely wants to continue with the academic programme and we have been like sort of disrupting the academic programme as best as we can.
"But it's just that its very difficult to get that right because of the heavy police presence on campus and all those sort of things.
"Now what frustrates us from our perspective is that they want to stop our efforts even though we are fighting for the right thing essentially.
"We want the university to make the right decisions but they are just unwilling to do that," said Cawe.
There had been tense scenes earlier at Rhodes University lecture venues yesterday as protesting students entered some lecture venues and disrupted classes. There was also visible tension between two staff groupings who both said they were prepared to put their bodies on the line for students exercising their rights – but whose ideas of what those rights are differs.
Dismissing Rhodes University management’s call for classes to continue while discussions about fees increases and free education proceed, a group of around 20 students entered the larger lecture venues at Barratt and Eden Grove complexes yesterday morning, singing and interrupting lecturers with questions related to the fees and free education protests.
In a media statement released late yesterday afternoon, Rhodes University’s Communications and Advancement Division said the academic programme had continued yesterday although there had been some disruption.
“We remain committed to continuing with the academic programme and to ensuring a successful completion of the academic year. To this end, the university remains dedicated to engagement with all constituencies.
“We reiterate the University’s position that everyone has the right to protest peacefully and within the bounds of the law.”
Vice Chancellor Dr Sizwe Mabizela was among those attending a multi-stakeholder forum convened by higher education minister Blade Nzimande yesterday to discuss post-school education funding.
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Staff put their bodies on the line for students:
http://www.grocotts.co.za/content/staff-step-fees-protests-step-03-10-2016
