JOHANNESBURG - Students in Gauteng are promising to continue a campaign for free education.
Protesters disrupted registration at Wits University on Monday, forcing the institution to suspend on campus registrations until Wednesday.
They&39;re demanding the university scrap registration fees. The institution says the suspended registration only affects first year students.
It&39;s urging all other students to register online or by telephone, rather than in person.
Registration update: https://t.co/7H4HyCejcJ via @WitsUniversity
— Wits_News (@Wits_News) January 11, 2016
A group also tried to block an entrance to the University of Johannesburg. Students there have been turned away and also told to apply online.
"We are doing online registrations and we not allowing walk-ins. This is not the first year that we doing it this way, we’ve been doing it this way over the last couple of years," said the university&39;s Deputy Vice Chancellor, Mpho Letlape.
This follows a tragedy four years ago when Gloria Sekwena, a parent of a prospective student, died at the institution during a registration stampede. Since then, UJ has insisted that all late applications be done online.
However student protesters believe this policy discriminates against poor black students.
"It does not make sense to us for the university to tell us that there are no walk-ins when we have people who don’t have access to Internet, who don’t have access to Wi-Fi. How are those people going to do an online registration?” said Lindokuhle Xulu.
At the same time, there was turmoil in Pretoria - with police firing stun grenades at Unisa students.
Registration update: https://t.co/7H4HyCejcJ via @WitsUniversity
— Wits_News (@Wits_News) January 11, 2016
@unisa instead of worrying about registration, you could rather let applicants know the outcome of their applications & make so many happy!
— Ty-rant (@tyral89) January 4, 2016
@unisa I haven&39;t even received feedback on my application. Can&39;t login to student portal. Emails not answered. Phones just ring. Wake up.
— IamKate (@Iamkatiej) January 4, 2016
* Watch the full video report by Phakamile Hlubi in the gallery above.
