While students with the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) do not have to worry about historical debt preventing them from registering, this cannot be said for the rest of students.
For the past week at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) the Student Representative Council (SRC) and university management have had meetings to discuss the number of students unable to register due to historical debt. The SRC argued that “no student must be financially excluded regardless of historical debt”.
In a statement released on January 23, the SRC said management would not concede because of their financial deficit of R56 million. If Wits did take on the costs of historical debt, the university would be responsible for R400 million in addition to their financial deficit. The second reason given to the SRC by management was that “If they allow students to register without a guarantee from the state they would be breaking the law in terms of the credit act.”
The outcome of the discussions was three concessions for students with historical debt. For students who owe R10 000 or less, they will have their debt automatically added to their 2017 fees and will be allowed to register. But for students who owe more than R10 000, they will have to pay half the outstanding balance and arrange a payment plan for the remaining debt, before being allowed to register. Lastly an agreement from last year still stands. This agreement means that students who owe R15 000 or less and who are graduating this year will be able to register.
It is not only students at Wits who are battling to register this year but also Fees Must Fall activists with pending cases against them at the University of Pretoria (UP). UP management sent a letter to students with pending cases. According to The Huffington Post, the letter said, “Should you wish to register, kindly address a formal written request to the university management indicating why such a request should be considered favourably and what undertakings you are willing to give to avoid similar incidents as in 2016. You are not obliged to make any statement that will incriminate yourself.”
The deadline for the letter was January 23. Currently UP SRC and the South African Students’ Congress (Sasco) have scheduled meetings with UP vice-chancellor Cherly de la Rey to discuss this issue.
While registration at universities across the country continues, will all students be able to register before the 2017 academic year commences?
