sanews - 18 days ago

Work continues to restore safety at Fort Hare, Free State universities The Minister of Higher Education and Training, Buti Manamela, has assured students at Free State and Fort Hare Universities that the department, the universities and police are working hard to protect students and staff. Efforts are also underway to reopen Fort Hare University. This after violent protests broke out at the Eastern Cape-based university this week – causing damages estimated between R300 and R500 million.

READ | Minister Manamela calls for calm amid Fort Hare unrest

“Our immense priority is to ensure that the academic program resumes within the next week. In a productive meeting with the university…I’ve directed the University Council and management to put in place all necessary measures to reopen the institution and allow teaching and learning to continue, including temporary online modalities where required.

“Students must be able to complete their studies in peace and also in safety. That is non-negotiable. The university must ensure that the academic year is not put in any jeopardy.”

Manamela condemned the violence at the university – describing it as “criminal”.

“The destruction and violence that engulfed the University of Fort Hare in recent days is deeply tragic. A university should be a space of learning, hope and progress. Not one of fear and destruction.

“The intimidation of staff… and the disruption of teaching and learning cannot and will never be justified. What has happened at Fort Hare is not protest. It is criminal. It destroys opportunity, it erodes confidence, but it also undermines the dreams of thousands of young people who look to education as their only chance for a better life.

“We are working closely with the South African Police Service, the Eastern Cape government, and the university security teams to restore come and protect students and staff,” he said at a media briefing on Saturday.

The Minister acknowledged that there are challenges that must be addressed by the institution’s leadership.

“Beyond the immediate crisis, I’ve also asked the University Council to reflect deeply on the number of critical issues when they meet tomorrow. [This] including the state of governance and leadership, the role and status of the SRC [Student Representative Council], the institutional culture of the university, the concerns raised about the Vice Chancellor’s contract and the insourcing of workers, which are some of the issues that are believed to have triggered protest at the university.

“In the coming week, I will respond in greater detail to the feedback received from the ministerial team led by Professor Ahmed Bauer, which has been engaging students, staff, and other stakeholders over the last several days. Their work is central to shaping the next phase of our intervention,” he said.

Arrests

Turning to matters at the University of Free State where protests have also erupted, the Minister said some 17 students have been arrested including two who attempted to “throw a petrol bomb in a cubicle that houses security”.

“Now this is criminality. Even if these people are students, they are basically unleashing crime. And I think in both instances…we need to make that distinction between people who are students and... criminals who are also in the process endangering the life of other students and staff.

Safety enhancement

“But we have to approach this in a very systemic way. And that s why we will be accelerating our engagement internally so that we fix the system internally in order to ensure that we don’t keep students being vulnerable, but also our engagement with the South African Police Service on ways and means within which we can restore order where necessary,” he said.

The Minister emphasised, however, that security responses alone “will not be enough”.

“We have to deal with some of the issues that have resulted in protest in some of the institutions, but also that some of the violence is not even related to protest but it s related to the fact that institutions are being seen as business enterprises for infrastructure, for tenders, around services, accommodation, and so on and some of this violence is related to that. “We have to make sure that universities and institutions within the post-school education and training sector return to what they’ve been established for, become places of learning and teaching and not what we have seen in the most recent days,” Manamela said. – SAnews.gov.za NeoB Sat, 10/11/2025 - 12:25 146 views

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