UKZN burning: DASO requests urgent meeting
4 February 2020
The Democratic Alliance Student's Organisation (DASO) KZN has requested an urgent meeting with UKZN Campus Management to discuss the registration challenges and violent protests at the UKZN Howard College and Pietermaritzburg Campus. DASO eThekwini Councillor SibonisoSibisi was on site at Howard College Campus yesterday to speak to students about the unfolding situation.
To DASO's knowledge, UKZN management informed the SRC and students that all students with outstanding fees stemming from historical debt need to pay back at least 15% before being allowed to register.
In the past, students had been allowed to register regardless of outstanding debt. Over the past 3 years this student debt has accumulated drastically and it has become wholly unaffordable for students to pay back with some owing as much as R150 000.
For many students who are unemployed and have parents that are also unemployed, a request to pay back 15% of historical debt is an impossible feat. Those requested to pay 15% of historical debt also include students who had previously been funded by NSFAS.