Unizulu closes main campus as protest action rages on
Insiders say situation at main campus is ‘out of control’
PROTEST action by students and staff has forced the University of Zululand to close down its main campus in KwaDlangezwa near Empangeni.
The closure, confirmed this morning by the Director of Communications and Marketing for Unizulu, Gcina Nhleko, comes as a strike by NEHAWU union members continues into its third week.
Staff are disputing proposed salary scale adjustments and benefits for employees.
According to a lecturer who spoke on condition of anonymity, classrooms were locked and telephone lines and Internet connections cut yesterday.
Reports indicate that police and security forces fired rubber bullets at students this morning and students in turn have been burning tyres and upending rubbish bins.
Unizulu strike cont. Workers and students standing together. Management must engage or this won't end. #UngabalekiP2 pic.twitter.com/3QvPqDk6Q4
— ♡#Miss_Val (@VeroscaV) August 30, 2016
‘The situation is tense,’ Nhleko said.
‘Classes were not suspended yesterday, but the ongoing NEHAWU strike caused disruption. The full staff complement was not on duty and certain access areas closed.
‘Classes were not suspended yesterday, SRC has not presented a petition or memorandum to University management therefore we cannot confirm what triggered protests by students.’
Nhleko said damage to university infrastructure has not as yet been ascertained, but security believed further damages would be caused as students leave the campus.
‘All students have been asked to evacuate the campus, even those staying in residences. They will be vacating the premises between 10am and 12am this morning.’
She confirmed that the Richards Bay campus was still open.
Earlier this week a statement did the rounds on social media titled ‘Know your Vice-Chancellor Prof X Mtose’ in which a number of issues labelled as ‘gross irregularities’ are highlighted, including the purchase and furnishing of luxury homes for executive staff at the Zini River Estate in Mtunzini.
The statement, which was unsigned, claims the ‘needs of finalist (sic) and first year students are not being met, but the money is being spent haphazardly’.
The Zululand Observer has also heard reports that dining halls have been closed for almost a week, meaning some students have not had food.
Read the full story in the ZO Weekender edition.
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