Dear SPU Community
The right to protest is enshrined in our constitution and I support any peaceful means thereof. I do not support the intimidation of staff and students, the prevention of staff from doing their jobs, and a general disregard for the precepts of peaceful protest.
It is a priority for University Management to protect all staff, students and property and we will take every measure to do so. Students who violate University rules or who engage in unlawful behaviour on campus will be subjected to our internal disciplinary codes. Should this behaviour take place outside of the university premises then the public order police will act as is their mandate.
The University Management has been engaging with the SRC continuously on matters that affect students around registration, accommodation, and student funding. We also undertook to respond, within 48 hours, to the letter of demand which we received on 15 March, 2021 from the SRC, and which underpin the current nationwide student protests. The SRC gave an undertaking that the student protests at Sol Plaatje University would be peaceful but the behaviour displayed this morning by students, led by the SRC, cannot be condoned.
As a result of the student protest action yesterday the University Management suspended the orientation programme for first year students. If the University operations are forcibly shutdown, by students, we cannot provide the services that our students seek from us, which include catering, cleaning, financial administration, and academic administration. I call upon the SRC and all our students to undertake their protests peacefully.
The new academic year will commence on 23 March 2021, as scheduled, but online registration will continue until 31 March for both returning students and first-time entering students.
The University is open, and I appeal to all staff to return to work so that we can continue to serve our students and the public at large.
Kind regards
Professor Andrew M Crouch
Vice-Chancellor and Principal
