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#UFSShutdown: Traumatised students to receive counselling

───   MARK STEENBOK 15:50 Mon, 23 Oct 2017

#UFSShutdown: Traumatised students to receive counselling  | News Article
Photo: Olebogeng Motse

The Vice-Chancellor and Rector at the University of the Free State (UFS) says the students who were emotionally and physically harmed during last week’s protests, will be allowed to write the examinations at a later stage.


Francis Petersen told OFM News that this was decided during a meeting with the Student Representative Council (SRC) this morning after a group of students marched to the main building to voice their grievances.

“The students really experienced a level of trauma during the altercations on Friday afternoon. We will identify those students and provide psychological and emotional support to them. We will also provide medical assistance for those students who were physically harmed. We will schedule additional examinations for those students once the normal exam cycle has been completed,” says Petersen.

Academic activities were disrupted on both the Qwaqwa and Bloemfontein campuses last week after students started protesting over a possible fee increment.

In total 38 students were arrested during the protests on Friday afternoon. They have since been released on bail of R500 each and will again appear in court on 19 February 2018.

According to one student, Sanelisiwe Mtambo, these students were allegedly assaulted and harassed by security and police officials prior to their arrest.

Another student told the university management this morning that they had let students down. “I took many girls to the hospital on Friday, some of them are pregnant. The police have beaten some of those girls. We look up to the university leadership as our parents. We are depending on you, yet you throw us to the wolves.”

Petersen says the students who were arrested will be allowed back on campus and may write examinations. He says the university will also look into the conduct of private security officials during the protests on Friday.

“At the moment I am trying to establish an independent panel of highly regarded and credible individuals to conduct an investigation into what happened on the afternoon and evening of 20 October. Obviously, that panel wants those recommendations and feedback as provided. We will then look at what the actions will be after those recommendations,” says Francis.

Examinations at both the Bloemfontein and Qwaqwa campuses started at 08:00 this morning.


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