DASO KZN calls on Minister Blade Nzimande to urgently intervene in UniZulu’s poor living conditions

23 September 2021

The Democratic Alliance Students Organisation (DASO) in UniZulu today calls on the Minister of Higher Education, Blade Nzimande, to urgently intervene as students continue to live in poor conditions.

We conducted an oversight inspection to one of the UniZulu main campus residences as a follow-up inspection to our visit last year in which we highlighted the very poor living conditions of students.

We had been informed that the university had embarked on some long-overdue maintenance to the residences. Upon inspection of the interior of the residence, absolutely no improvements were observed.

Students continue to suffer under abysmal conditions that include;

- Communal bathrooms with broken windows, doors and fixtures, missing lighting which poses a significant safety risk and reports of no hot water in ablution facilities;

- No stoves or hot plates in communal kitchen areas which has resulted in students cooking in their rooms. This poses a huge fire risk, compromising the safety of all students;

- Broken lighting in passageways;

- Broken windows and furniture in residence rooms;

- Absence of adequate refuse management.

The question remains as to why UniZulu management have allowed student residences to deteriorate into squalor despite surely possessing a budget to maintain university infrastructure.

DASO will continue to seek transparency over the university’s budget and expenditure. We will push for the right of every student to experience a decent standard of habitation. No student should ever be left behind by an uncaring university.

Issued by Hannah Winkler, DASO KZN Constituency Head, 23 September 2021