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23 February 2022 | Story Lacea Loader

On the morning of 23 February 2022, some of the entrance gates to the Bloemfontein Campus were blocked by groups of protesting students. The gates were cleared by members of Protection Services and traffic could continue to enter and exit the campus.

Sporadic disruption of classes occurred during the course of the day, with several students being arrested by the South African Police Service (SAPS) for disruption of classes, which is contravention of the interdict.

The disruptive behaviour stems from students’ unhappiness with the response to the memorandum handed to the university management by the Bloemfontein Campus Central Student Representative Council (CSRC) on 21 February 2022. Also on 21 February, a memorandum was handed to the management of the Qwaqwa Campus by the campus’ CSRC. The Qwaqwa Campus was temporarily closed yesterday, following violent protest action this week; the date for the reopening of the campus will be communicated in due course. 

Today’s disruptive behaviour demonstrated by the group of students on the Bloemfontein Campus is condemned and will not be tolerated.

During this week and on numerous occasions before that, the university management has been in extensive engagements with the CSRCs on both campuses; concessions were made where possible, as was demanded in the two memoranda. However, the responses given, and the concessions made by the university were not accepted by the student leadership of the Bloemfontein Campus CSCR in particular, with more demands being made.


Concessions from the beginning of 2022:

To ensure that students register successfully for the 2022 academic year, the UFS has granted a number of financial concessions to students since the beginning of the year. The financial support given was specifically intended to fast-track the registration process of students with outstanding debt, and those awaiting confirmation of funding from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS). 

These concessions included:

  • Allowing students who have previously registered for foundation programmes and those who have continued with mainstream programmes to register without the prerequisite of a first payment. The provision was granted to students who applied with the N+ rule and whose respective foundation programmes are included in the Department of Higher Education and Training-funded list.
  • Permitting students with outstanding debt of up to R25 000 and who await NSFAS funding to register provisionally.
  • The university also allowed conditional registration for first-time entering students, giving those who have applied for NSFAS funding until 28 February 2022 to finalise their registration. First-time entering students, both residential and non-residential, could register conditionally, provided that they pay an amount of R500.

Demands in the two memoranda received from the CSRCs on the Bloemfontein and Qwaqwa Campuses included matters such as private accommodation; emergency accommodation; catch-up plans for students who have not yet registered; a registration threshold increase to R30 000; NSFAS allowances; and the extension of registration for international students without study permits. The Bloemfontein Campus CSRC did not accept the university’s responses to the memorandum.

The university management will continue engaging with the SRC.

Safety measures in place:

The situation on the Bloemfontein Campus is closely monitored. Protection Services is on high alert and continues to work closely with the SAPS to ensure stability on the campus.

 

Issued by:
Lacea Loader
Director: Communication and Marketing
University of the Free State
loaderl@ufs.ac.za
23 February 2022

News Archive

Africa's Black Rhino conservation strategy must change
2017-07-10

 Description: Black Rhino Tags: conservation strategy, black rhino, Nature Scientific Reports, National Zoological Gardens of South Africa, extinction, decline in genetic diversity, Prof Antoinette Kotze, Research and Scientific Services, Dr Desire Dalton 

The black rhino is on the brink of extinction. The study that was 
published in the Nature Scientific Reports reveals that the
species has lost an astonishing 69% of its genetic variation. 
Photo: iStock

The conservation strategy of the black rhino in Africa needs to change in order to protect the species from extinction, a group of international researchers has found. The study that was published in the Nature Scientific Reports reveals that the species has lost an astonishing 69% of its genetic variation. 

South African researchers took part 
The researchers, which included local researchers from the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa (NZG), have highlighted the fact that this means the black rhino is on the brink of extinction. "We have found that there is a decline in genetic diversity, with 44 of 64 genetic lineages no longer existing," said Prof Antoinette Kotze, the Manager of Research and Scientific Services at the Zoo in Pretoria. She is also affiliate Professor in the Department of Genetics at the University of the Free State and has been involved in rhino research in South Africa since the early 2000s.  

DNA from museums and the wild 
The study compared DNA from specimens in museums around the world, which originated in the different regions of Africa, to the DNA of live wild animals. The DNA was extracted from the skin of museum specimen and from tissue and faecal samples from animals in the wild. The research used the mitochondrial genome.

"The rhino poaching ‘pandemic’
needs to be defeated, because
it puts further strain on the genetic
diversity of the black rhino.”


Ability to adapt 
Dr Desire Dalton, one of the collaborators in the paper and a senior researcher at the NZG, said the loss of genetic diversity may compromise the rhinos’ ability to adapt to climate change. The study further underlined that two distinct populations now exists on either side of the Zambezi River. Dr Dalton said these definite populations need to be managed separately in order to conserve their genetic diversity. The study found that although the data suggests that the future is bleak for the black rhinoceros, the researchers did identify populations of priority for conservation, which might offer a better chance of preventing the species from total extinction. However, it stressed that the rhino poaching ‘pandemic’ needs to be defeated, because it puts further strain on the genetic diversity of the black rhino. 

Extinct in many African countries 
The research report further said that black rhino had been hunted and poached to extinction in many parts of Africa, such as Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Sudan, and Ethiopia. These rhino are now only found in five African countries. They are Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Namibia, and South Africa, where the majority of the animals can be found. 

 

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