WATCH | UKZN students continue fiery protest over list of demands

The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) has condemned alleged violence and destruction of property after fresh protests broke out at its campuses.

The university said on Monday there were protests at the Westville and Pietermaritzburg campuses and an “attempt was made to set alight an office at Howard College”.

“In Pietermaritzburg, a group of 30 individuals blocked the main gate preventing staff from coming on to campus,” UKZN said.

There was a confrontation between the EFF student council and Westville campus security personnel on Friday, where a guardhouse and a car belonging to a university-appointed security company were damaged.

The students are demanding, among other things, in-person registration, citing difficulties faced by students from disadvantaged backgrounds with online registration.

However, the university says registration must be done online. Measures are in place to ensure the registration process caters for everyone, it says. The UKZN website is free to access and videos explain the online registration process — the only part that needs data.

“In addition to this, all applicants who have accepted a firm offer will be provided with data upon acceptance of the offer.

“All returning students, that is students who studied at UKZN last semester, are provided with data and have been given laptops and are able to do everything remotely.”

EFF student council Westville spokesperson Wandile Majozi said they would continue the protest until all demands are met.

“These measures are inadequate. Registration needs physical interaction or you will get another case of students choosing wrong modules, like last year,” he said.

“Manual registration is only one of our five main demands. And those measures are not enough. So we will continue to protest until all our demands are met and we have the backing of students on this.”

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