DURBAN - THE Durban University of Technology (DUT) has said that lectures for annual students and semester students will commence today.
This comes after violent protests at the university last week in which four vehicles, belonging to staff, and a security guard house were torched.
Students told The Mercury last week that they wanted in-person registrations as they were struggling with the online process. They also said they were not happy with DUT’s Covid-19 vaccination policy.
In a statement yesterday, DUT said it was continuing with late online registration which commenced on Saturday. For first-year students, registration would end on March 11 while late registration for returning students would end on Friday.
It added that no walk-ins or on-campus registrations were taking place.
The university said that through its Department of Student Governance and Development it would continue to hold regular registration meetings with the Students’ Representative Council, with the next monthly meeting set for Thursday.
It said it would offer multi-modal, online teaching and learning to all students until further notice.
“Once there are no more disruptions at DUT, permits to access campus will only be granted to first-year students and to returning students who are enrolled for exit level modules, to attend mask-to-mask lectures on campus.
“Other permits will be issued to students who require access to the practical laboratories and to students whose conditions at home are not conducive for learning.
“All students who need to be on campus will only be permitted access provided they meet the criteria of the policy choices on vaccination of staff and students.”
Regarding the closures of the Steve Biko campus, ML Sultan campus and the Ritson campus last week, it said staff and students would be notified about the reopening of these three campuses, once safety and security had been restored.
The other four campuses, Brickfield campus, City campus, Indumiso campus and the Riverside campus were not affected by the temporary closure.
It also said that an interim interdict that was granted by the Durban High Court last Friday was firmly in place and the relevant law-enforcement authorities have all been informed about the court order.
In terms of the interim interdict, the EFF Student Command and individual students who were named in the matter, were interdicted from being physically situated within 150m of DUT premises when marching, gathering or protesting.
They were also interdicted from harassing, threatening staff and students and from impeding access to the university’s facilities.
They were also interdicted from physically damaging any property on the university’s premises.
Meanwhile, the University of KwaZulu-Natal said its management has lifted the shutdown of the Howard College campus following an assessment of the situation on campus.
UKZN shut down the Howard College campus as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of university staff, students and property after a large group of students gathered outside Gate 1 on Friday.
The campus will reopen today to individuals (staff, students and contractors) who were in possession of valid University Access permits.
THE MERCURY