Recap: Increase in 2023 first payment met with student action

by Leah Rees, Mothusi Mokalane and Kirsten Minnaar | Sep 7, 2022 | News

On 22 August the Student Representative Council (SRC) called a mass meeting following UP’s decision to increase the 2023 first payment amount for all students. The SRC has released a series of press releases stating that they are against this decision as they believe that “it is not simply an increase in the registration fee, but a means to gatekeep Higher Education”. UP stated that its reasoning for the increase is that fees have not been adjusted for seven years, since 2016, and that costs are rising because of inflation.

The changes to the ‘registration fee’ or the first payment for 2023 are as follows:

• Undergraduate students:  R7500 (an increase of R2500)

• Post-graduate students: R10000 (an increase of R2500)

  International undergraduate students: R40000

  International post-graduate students: 50% of the total 2023 fee

According to UP, this first payment does not apply to NSFAS students or students who are sponsored externally and that “the first payment, due at registration, is part of the total annual fee and is not in addition to it”.

Previous engagement

On 17 August, SRC President, Thuto Mashile, received a communique from the Vice-Principal of Student Life, Prof. Mosia stating that “the Executive [has] decided to uphold the decision to increase the initial fee payments for all students. Prof. Mosia explained that the reasoning behind the  decision, despite their engagement with the SRC, is “to ensure the financial sustainability of the university for quality world class education”. Following this email the SRC decided to call for a mass meeting to engage with the student population regarding the 2023 first payment increase.

The mass meeting

Mashile, opened the mass meeting by saying that “as the SRC we have engaged the management of this university on several occasions […] on the same day we released a statement rejecting the fee increment”. Mashile went on to say that after multiple attempts to try to get the university not to increase the registration fees, UP still went ahead with the increase. Mashile told the student body present at the meeting that the SRC has exhausted all consultation processes – “basically [UP] didn’t hear our suggestions, they totally ignored our cries and pleas and they chose to continue with increasing the fees and prioritising themselves over giving the students an opportunity to access education”. 

A student, Kefentse Mabogoane, told the student body that they calculated this fee increase and said that “we actually got the calculations done, by a stats student, an investment student […] and we realised what UP did. It raised the fees by more than what is suggested by the Department of Higher Education”. 

The Department of Higher Education and Training proposed an increase of 4.23% in tuition fees in February for the 2022 academic year. Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande, stated that the costs associated with the provision of a university education are increasing due to multiple factors which include but is not limited to an increase in workers’ wages. According to Minister Nzimande, it is not sustainable for university fees to increase by an amount lower than inflation. However, although the increase in UP’s initial fee seems to go against Minister Nzimande’s recommendation as it exceeded it by 47.77%, “the first payment, due at registration, is part of the total annual fee and is not in addition to it” meaning that UP has not increased tuition costs, which was recommended by Minister Nzimande.

However, it cannot be denied that even if tuition costs remain the same, the increase does place a financial burden on certain UP students. Mashile highlighted that even with the current registration fee, the SRC and various political organisations are assisting students with tuition fees at the beginning of every academic year, therefore this increase will add to the already high number of students who cannot afford tertiary education.   

Secretary General of the SRC, Tarik Lalla, also addressed the students present at the mass meeting saying that “the fact of the matter is that the university cannot tell us that increases are due to economic difficulty knowing very well that our students are facing that same difficulty”. Lalla went on to boldly say that “they are going to threaten us, they are going to tell us that we are going to be suspended, it’s fine, let them come, we are ready […] as students, we refuse to be quiet about these issues.” Lalla told PDBY that “[they] are consented by section 12 of the Constitution to assemble and demonstrate peacefully”.

Mashile, closed the floor by saying that “going forward, as proposed by the students of the University of Pretoria, we must shut down this university, business cannot continue as usual, students cannot continue attending lectures, people that work at admin cannot continue working every day and coming to campus as if everything is okay. So the way forward now is that no lectures must continue”.

The demonstrations on Hatfield’s campus and UP’s response 

Following the mass meeting, members of the SRC and varying numbers of the student body continued to demonstrate across UP’s Hatfield Campus on 22 and 23 August as a means of displaying their rejection of UP’s decision. Their activities ranged from the disruption of classes, to singing, and blocking roads, gates as well as bus terminals. At 11:40 on 23 August, Prof. Kupe responded to the mass meeting and the following demonstrations in an email. 

The email stated “[yesterday] a small group of students disrupted a few classes on the university’s main campus in Hatfield. This is unacceptable, and we are taking steps against those in breach of our institution’s policies and who have made themselves guilty of misconduct”. Prof. Kupe continued, stating that the “university held off increasing fees earlier because of the financial hardship of students and the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the financial situation of the university has meant that an increase can regrettably no longer be put off. The increase will not affect all students.” This email emphasised that UP did not have any option other than to implement this increase. “While an increase of this nature is never easy, all other available alternatives were carefully considered, and we were left with no other option. Not only is this in the interest of the university’s financial sustainability, but it is also part of our continuing efforts to ensure we provide all our students with a quality education. We have several financial support measures in place to assist students who experience financial difficulties and will do everything we can to help them. The success of our students remains paramount.” Following this communique from Prof. Kupe, the demonstrations continued with the aim of getting Prof. Kupe to address students regarding the increase in person.

On the afternoon of 23 August, students blocked the entrance and exit lanes at the bus terminal on UP’s Hatfield campus. Following this the SRC had a meeting with Security Services regarding the blockages. During this meeting, SAPS was deployed to assist in negotiations where Lalla and Mashile stressed that demonstrations would continue until Prof. Kupe addressed the student body. Lalla responded to this meeting saying “it wasn’t anything that we didn’t expect because security services are not going to give us the answers we need. That’s why we have asked for the Vice-Chancellor or someone in executive management. Unfortunately, they were not available. Maybe they chose not to be available, or maybe they are unavailable, we don’t know”.

Following these blockages, UP’s Department of Facilities Management released a communique on ClickUP saying that “the bus terminal at Hatfield has been hijacked by the protesting students since [23 August]. Our buses are therefore not able to operate from the terminus.” Rumours have since circulated that the students demonstrating had hijacked buses at the terminal, which is false, as the students present only prevented the normal operation of the bus terminal.

The demonstrations on Groenkloof campus and UP’s response

On 24 August, students then attempted to move to Groenkloof campus in order to further engage with students by utilising UP’s bus services. According to Security Services, the bus containing the students and members of the SRC was not allowed to leave but declined to give further comment on the matter. PDBY contacted Rikus Delport, the Director of the Department of Institutional Advancement, with regard to this incident and received the following comment – “we are aware of the protest action by a small group of students who are attempting to disrupt the activities on the Hatfield campus, including interfering with and preventing buses from transporting students between different campuses. While we respect the rights of students to protest, it should be done in a peaceful manner with respect for the majority of students and staff who want to continue with the academic programme. It is important to note that only a small group of students are responsible for these disruptions”.

Following this incident, students attempted to shut down UP’s Groenkloof campus by blocking gates and preventing the entry to or exit from Groenkloof campus. At Groenkloof Campus, these students willingly negotiated with police, and following these negotiations they elected to stop blocking the gates. 

Mashile addressed the students on Groenkloof campus on 24 August and stated that “as the SRC we have exhausted the escalation policy […]. The only language that they understand is when we as students do this. And I’m saying guys, that we need to do this. This is not violent as they are making it appear […] We are being as peaceful as possible. But for this shut down to be effective we need to unite.” Mashile continued saying “what is the point of going to class today if you don’t know if you’re going to be able to come back next year?” In his address to the students at Groenkloof, Lalla also emphasised this point. “[what] is a week of class when there is a lifetime of education being taken away from us?” Furthermore, Lalla also expressed that they had informed SAPS of their intention to return to Groenkloof campus the following day and continue the campus shutdown, and that they would once again be willing to engage with the officers on scene.

However, on 25 August, in anticipation of the shutdown, UP management elected to close all gates on Groenkloof and suspend in person activities. Deputy Dean, Salome Human-Vogel, emailed all students with the subject line “Student Action on Groenkloof, Mamelodi and Prinshof Campus”. This email stated that “Due to action today on Groenkloof Campus” teaching activities would take place online. However, unlike what the subject line would imply, Mamelodi and Prinshof Campus were never directly affected by the student action and at that time the demonstrators had no apparent intention of moving to those campuses. 

The conclusion 

Although UP has stated that the reasoning for the increase has been communicated to students, UP initially only offered an official explanation via a graphic posted on their Instagram page, which contained minimal detail. This graphic also only followed the decision of the SRC to hold a mass meeting. PDBY reached out to the Director of the Department of Student Affairs, Dr Matete Madiba, to find out when students would have been alerted of the first payment increase, if it had not been for the mass meeting. Dr Madiba responded saying that because UP was still engaging with the 2022 SRC, the communication to students was delayed. Dr Madiba further explained that the first payment increase is more complicated than the reasoning laid out in the graphic. She said that the increase is necessary to allow the university to have sufficient cash flow in the beginning of the year, to assist NSFAS students who do not receive their allowances, amongst other reasons.

However, even if the reasoning behind the increase has been made clear, UP’s initial lack of communication and its subsequent explanations regarding the first payment increase left students confused, frustrated and without clarity. So although the action taken by the students who elected to demonstrate is controversial, it cannot be ignored that the main motivation behind this action was to engage with students in a peaceful manner, to try and get UP management to revisit their decision. At this time, these attempts have been unsuccessful and the action employed on both Hatfield and Groenkloof campus led to the temporary suspension of 7 UP SRC members.

Lalla told PDBY on 26 August “I can assure you. Every presentation that the SRC was at, everything that happened under the banner of the SRC was completely peaceful and it was completely non-violent. There was no property damage, nobody was harmed, nobody was threatened […] in what the SRC was doing.”

 

Photos: Tshepang Rihlampfu

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Leah is a pale ... awkward ... asthmatic ginger.
She used to be Head of Layout (cries) before becoming Digital Manager in an effort to take over PDBY, an effort that has since failed (its all political). She has a keen eye for alignment, an intense love for tequila and chicken nuggets, and occasionally enjoys frollicking in the hills. To end off this bio she leaves this final nugget of wisdom "You just lost the game".

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History, Archaeology and Setswana student at the University of Pretoria. An avid reader and lover of news writing and broadcasting. I have a passion for African indigenous languages and history. A prospective world-class journalist and scholar

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I’m Kirsten, a law student who loves writing, making spreadsheets and consuming an unhealthy amount of caffeine.
I love writing about student issues and current events.