Administrative error or systematic penalty? The case of Tarik Lalla

by Daniel McAslin | Aug 4, 2024 | Breaking Headlines, News

Each academic year is subject to various student registration issues, such as exorbitant costs, NSFAS not paying for academic essentials, and historical debt. For Tarik Lalla, a different problem has impeded registration in 2024: the executive administration of the university.

Lalla previously completed both a Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology (2021) and an honours degree in Ecology (2023) at the University of Pretoria. While Lalla hoped to complete his master’s thesis at UP this year, he has been unable to register seven months into the calendar year. After he paid the R12 500 registration fee in March, the processing of Lalla’s payment was delayed. On the last day of registration, the financial hold was lifted and replaced by a hold titled “SRC”, with the description of “Registrar’s Discretion”. This hold, which is not on the standard list provided by the university, has remained on his portal ever since.

Lalla has been in communication with the registrar’s office and other executive management since the hold, but he is yet to have his hold lifted and to be afforded the chance to register. In the months following the closing of registration, Lalla has not been allowed to pursue his master’s thesis at UP and is yet to be reimbursed for his registration fee, which was paid in full. Furthermore, when he asked for a charge sheet from the university to determine the exact nature of the offence that has prevented him from registering, he did not receive one.

Lalla believes that his situation is the result of his position as an activist and student leader during his undergraduate and postgraduate studies. He was the secretary of the Student Representative Council (SRC) in 2022, and he spearheaded the attempted campus shutdown and subsequent protests against that year’s registration fee increases. These activities saw him suspended from UP. His activism also includes participation in the 2019 Uyinene Mrwetyana anti-GBV protests and the 2021 historical debt protests.

In an effort to bring awareness to his situation, as well as to “[take] a stand against student intimidation – whether for ordinary students or student leaders”, Lalla started the #LetLallaLearn campaign. A petition under the name “End Student Intimidation and Victimisation at the University of Pretoria” has been circulating in an attempt to allow Lalla to register successfully and pursue his master’s qualification. Alongside this, he created the Instagram page @letlallalearn in an attempt to raise awareness about Lalla’s situation and to encourage students to sign the petition.

This movement is not limited to Lalla or the organisations that he belongs to (SASCO, the South African Communist Party, and the ANC Youth League). The supporters of #LetLallaLearn are people who “fundamentally disagree with [Lalla’s] political beliefs”, but they all agree that “before we can properly and honestly engage with our political differences, we need to understand that we must bring proper democracy to UP first”.

PDBY reached out to Rikus Delport, UP’s Director of the Department of Institutional Advancement, for comment. “Mr Lalla did not attempt to complete his registration before the extended closing date for registration,” he said. “His financial block was lifted on 12 February and the final date for registration was on the 8th.”

Daniel McAslin
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