The Rhodes University Student Representative Council notes the Vice Chancellor’s Circular sent to Rhodes University students yesterday afternoon. Following an emergency meeting tonight, the SRC deliberated on the Circular and outlined the following recommendations that have been communicated with the university’s leadership.
- In cases where students will come forward and state that they are unable to leave by the due date, then the students should be allowed to stay in residences for free as long as they will be leaving by 27 Mar 2020. This is necessitated by the fact that many students only planned on leaving at the end of next week. We, however, encourage students who are able to leave campus to do so immediately.
- The Circular also stated that in exceptional cases, students who are unable to leave must contact the Director of Student Affairs. We are worried that the suggested three days may not be enough to assist all students who have such queries. For this reason, assessing students’ situations on a case by case basis through the office of the DSA is not feasible considering the large volume of requests the office is likely to receive. It is therefore unlikely that students will receive swift responses to these urgent matters by Friday, the 20th of March 2020. We urge the university to call upon House Wardens to assist the DSA in handling these cases. We suggest that students approach their House Wardens first with reasons why they should be allowed to stay. The Wardens will then use their discretion in considering the students’ request. Students should only have to approach the DSA in the event that they receive an unsatisfactory response from their House Warden. This will significantly reduce the pressure on the DSA and ensure efficiency in responding to students.
- We welcome the call by the Division of Student Affairs to have NSFAS allowances paid out to students by Friday, 20th of March 2020, as students can utilise this money to make the necessary travel arrangements. We further suggest that students in residence be allowed to unbook next week’s meals so that the funds can be refunded to them via e-wallet to assist in making travel arrangements. Students who are employed by the university in positions such as tutors, student assistants, and sub-wardens should have their salaries early paid on Friday for the same reason. This should also apply to students who are on bursaries that pay monthly allowances into their accounts.
- We welcome the notice by the DSA that students who had already made bookings for vacation accommodation will be refunded and have their accounts credited.
- Students should only be expected to pay for vacation accommodation after the 27th of March 2020, should the dire need to stay on campus arise. International students who are unable to return to their home countries because of border restrictions should liaise with the international office who are communicating with border control. The international office should also be the first port of call for international students who need details about re-entry into South Africa once the next academic term resumes.
- We ask that there be no submissions of academic work during this vacation period. This should be treated as any vacation period; students should not be expected to complete academic work in the same fashion as they would during term time. It should also be taken into serious consideration that these are exceptional circumstances. Many students do not have access to personal computers, desktops, or uninterrupted internet connection at home. In some cases, there is no network in the areas students will be returning to. Continuing the academic programme online would significantly disadvantage the majority of our student body who face the aforementioned issues and privilege that small portion of our student body who do have access to these resources. The country is also facing the routine problem of load shedding, which will affect the productivity of many of our students who do not have generators or inverters at home. It should be further noted that even students who will have to remain on campus may not be able to fulfil their academic obligations as everyone is encouraged to avoid social interaction and face to face contact. We ask that the academic programme halt as this is now officially the end of term, students and lecturers should continue with the programme next term. This should apply to undergraduate courses, Honours, Masters and PhD programmes.
- Once the university has decided on a safe and suitable time for students to return, we urge the leadership of the university to communicate effectively with all students via all platforms, including but not limited; email and SMS, at least two weeks before this return date to allow for travel arrangements to be made.
- We urge the university to use this time to come up with a clear strategy on the process for health screening (and quarantining if necessary) of students who will be returning to the university from high-risk areas. It should also be taken into consideration that the standard time for quarantine is 14 days, the university should also take seriously that self-quarantine is not always effective and has not been very effective in containing the virus on a national level. Students who might have to be isolated will need to be catered for and this needs to form part of the university’s plan of action, which must be communicated in its entirety as soon as possible.
- We call on NSFAS to continue to pay out the money that is usually paid to Oppidan students for the duration of this indefinite period so that students will be able to maintain their lease agreements.
- Even though graduation has been postponed, students had already made payments for their graduation gowns as well as accommodation. As we are aware that the university has a good working relationship with business owners in the Makhanda community. The university should intervene by communicating with these stakeholders and encourage them to offer refunds to students who may need the money they have spent to make travel arrangements. This intervention will also be of great assistance to Oppidan students who are not on NSFAS and pay for their rent, out of pocket.
- We are also concerned that there is not enough clarity as to whether Postgraduate students must remain on campus or return home, as is the case with undergraduate students. The conversion of Postgraduate dining hall meals to self-catering meals implies that they are expected to stay on campus during this period. Postgraduate students should be afforded the same opportunity to return home, as they also are exposed to the same risks as everyone.
We hope that these recommendations will be seriously considered as they will significantly assist in a more efficient process of evacuating campus. We are hopeful that this will make this difficult situation much easier for the entire Rhodes University community. We encourage the student community to monitor their health and prioritise their well-being. We acknowledge that this is a stressful time, so we ask everybody to be kind to each other and, most importantly, stay safe.
Contact:
Secretary-General, Shanti Khosa
046 603 7083
Issued: 17 Mar. 2020