Rhodes University students blocked the campus entrances in Makhanda on Tuesday, demanding that classes be suspended until management addresses their concerns about a new fee payment protocol.
The protest is aimed at the 2027 Student Fees Protocol, which the university’s Council approved to deal with outstanding student debt and protect the institution’s long-term finances. Under the protocol, undergraduates with an outstanding balance must either settle 50% of their debt or agree to instalments of at least R3 000 a month. The protocol does not apply to students with guaranteed funding from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), but it does cover self-funded students and those funded through bursaries.
Two sides of the dispute
Student Representative Council (SRC) Secretary-General Keketso Dibakwane says the protocol does not take into account the make-up of Rhodes students or the conditions they face. According to Dibakwane, the SRC handed management a memorandum of demands at a meeting on Monday night, but management did not tell students what it would do with it.
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The university says the protocol responds to a real financial problem. Spokesperson Olwethu Gwanya said many payment arrangements were not honoured. Vice-chancellor Prof Sizwe Mabizela told students that the university cannot continue to operate if it is unable to recover student debt, and that there is no additional government money in the entire sector. Simon Kaye, CFO added that NSFAS has reduced support by capping accommodation and allowances, and has started paying Rhodes monthly without paying tuition in full.
Dining halls closed, student leaders step in
The shutdown has also reached the dining halls. All of them were closed on Tuesday, so students living on campus could not get breakfast, lunch or supper. Students allege that management holds them responsible for the closures, and that no food vouchers will be issued as a result. No additional comment was received from the university regarding that.
In response, a group of student leaders used their own money to buy food for on-campus students. The leaders asked not to be named. One of them said the effort was not about them personally, that the cause is bigger than any individual, and that it is for the good of the wider student body.
One student who received food said they had been worried about going to sleep hungry, with no money to buy food.
Council only meets in December
The main point of tension is timing. Gwanya confirmed that the next Council meeting is in December, and said Council would consider the students’ concerns rather than simply sign off on them. Students who need to register for 2027 are on a much shorter clock than that.
The cost of staying at Rhodes is part of the backdrop. Residence fees are listed at R92 851 and R97 482 a year, while NSFAS caps accommodation funding at R52 000 a year for students in metros and about R43 000 elsewhere.
Not the first time
Fee-related shutdowns are not new at Rhodes. In October 2015, students burned tyres and blocked all entrances to the campus over the minimum initial payment and fees being unaffordable for many students. Reports from the time say a university leader committed to making sure no student at Rhodes would be financially excluded.
The circumstances are different now. The 2015 protests were part of a national movement over sector-wide fees, while this one targets a single institution’s debt recovery plan. The registration barrier at the centre of the dispute, though, is a familiar one.
Any decision on the protocol rests with Council, which will only meet in December. Until then, students face the 2027 registration period under the terms as they stand, while on-campus students
