South Africa

South Africa

GroundUp: Which universities are open and which are not

GroundUp: Which universities are open and which are not

A look at 26 tertiary institutions to establish which are open and which are closed. Last updated at 09:25 on October 7. By GROUNDUP staff.

First published by GroundUp

The University of Witwatersrand has suspended classes. It was supposed to open on Monday 10 October following a general assembly on Friday with the aim of reaching consensus between protesters and the administration. Wits released a statement on Friday morning indicating that no consensus can be reached currently and that the general assembly will not take place. It is unclear when the academic year will resume. The full statement can be read here.

At the University of Cape Town, classes have been suspended until Monday October 10, but protest action continues on campus. On Thursday, the university’s Vice-Chancellor Max Price announced that UCT would be implementing an Institutional Reconciliation and Transformation Commission. It will focus on “the pressing issues that continue to divide us and are preventing the resumption of the academic programme”. This comes following calls from student protesters that the university should set up a “Shackville Truth and Reconciliation Commission”.

Members of UCT’s Health Sciences Faculty marching on 6 October.

At the University of the Western Cape classes have been suspended until Monday 10 October after protests earlier this week. 

At the Cape Peninsula University of Technology classes have been suspended until further notice following student protests but staff are expected to return to work today (6 October). Protests continued at the Bellville campus. Today a special university stakeholder engagement meeting was set to take place where it was hoped that “an amicable solution to the current impasse will be found” 

The University of Johannesburg‘s campuses are open. Some lectures have been cancelled due to protest action, but the vast majority are continuing.

At Northwest University students are currently on holiday. Before the holiday, staff at the Mafikeng Campus did not come to work due to student protests. The Vaal Triangle campus closed earlier than scheduled for students who began their holiday on 26 September. When classes resume on Monday 10 October, the university plans to operate as normal.

The University of KwaZulu-Natal is open and operating. However there has been much conflict and the Law Library was burnt a few weeks ago.

The University of Free State closed early on 28 September for the holiday that was scheduled to begin on 3 October. This was in response to students protests. Classes are scheduled to resume on Monday 10 October with the university operating as normal.

The University of Limpopo is open and operating.

At Rhodes University protests have been ongoing since 28 September. Many classes have been disrupted, but the university is operating. 

Stellenbosch University is open and operating.

At the University of Pretoria students have been on holiday since Tuesday 26 September. Personnel are working normally and class is scheduled to resume on Monday 10 October.

Walter Sisulu University campuses are open and operating.

Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University is currently shut down. There is no clarity on when operations will resume, but this will possibly be sometime next week.

The University of Johannesburg’s campuses are open. Some lectures have been cancelled due to protest action, but the vast majority are continuing.

At Northwest University students are currently on holiday. Before the holiday, staff at the Mafikeng Campus did not come to work due to student protests. The Vaal Triangle campus closed earlier than scheduled for students who began their holiday on September 26. When classes resume on Monday October 10, the university plans to operate as normal.

The University of KwaZulu-Natal is open and operating. However, there has been much conflict and the Law Library was burnt a few weeks ago.

The University of Free State closed early on September 28 for the holiday that was scheduled to begin on October 3. This was in response to students’ protests. Classes are scheduled to resume on Monday October 10 with the university operating as normal.

The University of Limpopo is open and operating.

At Rhodes University protests have been ongoing since September 28. Many classes have been disrupted, but the university is operating. 

Stellenbosch University is open and operating.

At the University of Pretoria students have been on holiday since Tuesday September 26. Personnel are working normally and classes are scheduled to resume on Monday October 10.

Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University is currently shut down. There is no clarity on when operations will resume, but this will possibly be some time next week.

Earlier this week, students demanded that NMMU reopen.

GroundUp was unable to determine whether the University of Zululand was operating as normal. 

Classes at Sol Plaatjie University have been suspended since 22 September due to student protests. The institution intends to open on Monday 10 October. 

The University of South Africa’s (UNISA) Cape Town campus was never affected by student protests. Pretoria was affected but it is open.

The University of Fort Hare is closed. There is ongoing court action between protesters and the university. Lectures are scheduled to resume next week.

GroundUp was unable to contact a representative from the University of Venda. The Facebook page states that lectures will resume on Monday 10 October, but that staff are to be back on campus from Wednesday 5 October.

GroundUp was also unable to contact anyone from the Tshwane University of Technology. A notice on their website dated 28 September says that “due to ongoing disruptions at its campuses, the official extended recess period will be applicable to all TUT campuses” and that the 4th term will commence on 10 October.

At the University of Zululand GroundUp was also unable to reach any representative. 

Vaal University of Technology is open and operating.

The Central University of Technology is open and operating.

The Durban University of Technology open and operating but exams have been moved back by two weeks because of protest action.

Mangosuthu University of Technology is open and operating. 

The University of Mpumalanga is open and operating. DM

Main photo: Ashraf Hendricks

GroundUp has depended on many sources of varying reliability for the information here. If you believe they have made an error, please send an e-mail to [email protected]

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