AfriForum Youth demands that public universities resume contact classes

20 April 2022

AfriForum Youth today sent a formal application in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) to all 25 public universities in the country to determine what their adapted policy is on campus-based tuition and activities.

This follows after many universities replaced campus-based tuition with online tuition during the COVID-19 pandemic and still continue to do so. This even though contact classes no longer pose a risk to students. AfriForum Youth will not accept online tuition as the new norm and demands that universities resume contact classes in full.

“Students from across the country pay for contact classes and quality education, but they now receive a watered-down version of their curriculum, which had been designed and accredited for contact education,” says René van der Vyver, Spokesperson for AfriForum Youth.

The unhappiness over the quality of online classes was brought to AfriForum Youth’s attention by students from various universities and their parents. Furthermore, universities that changed from campus-based to online education can cut back on their costs, whereas no financial relief is offered to students and parents. 

“Although distance learning was a good alternative when we were faced with Covid-19, this form of education now challenges students and their parents in many ways. These challenges can be mitigated with a return to contact classes,” says Ronald Peters, Manager of AfriForum Youth.

AfriForum Youth would like to encourage students to sign their online petition to put pressure on universities to resume contact classes.

Issued by Chanté Kelder, Media Relations Officer, AfriForum, 20 April 2022