Thursday September 20, 2007

Assembly:

Howard College : 9h00 outside SU building

Westville: 10h30 the Quad

The Socialist Student Movement has taken the initiative to organize a peaceful march against the financial exclusions that are currently being effected at UKZN – tomorrow (Thursday). We urge all students and staff, whether affected or not by the exclusions, to take part.

It is high time to break the silence about the exclusion of students on the grounds of poverty! Last semester, 413 students were financially excluded. This semester, the exclusions are continuing, with about 80 students in Howard College and Westville not being able to get through the Registration Appeals process successfully. Scandalously, the attitude of financial management, which largely controls the process, is that students are excluded for lack of “willingness to pay” which is equalled to “willingness to study”. However, UKZN exists within a reality where 57 % of South Africans are poor, about 40 % without employment, and only 5 percent of youth have the chance to access tertiary education. Students have outstanding fees because they cannot pay! We cannot accept
exclusions when there is an excess of money for management salaries (e.g. Makgoba R 2 million) and law suits (estimated R25 million last year) at the University; in government coffers (e g 11 billion budget surplus, R74 billion tax cuts for the rich since 1994, R60 billion on the corrupt arms deal), and in society as a whole. Experience shows that mass action is the only way to stop exclusions. Some of the demands we will raise are for an end to the exclusions; full registration for every student who appealed to the Registration Appeals Committee, with nil if necessary; the marking of all scripts and backdating of credits for students who have attended while unregistered.

The march will start in Howard College, then go to Westville by bus at 10h00 (from Jubilee Hall) arriving there at 10h30, and hand over a memorandum to Executive Management at 11h00. Returning to Howard College we will attend a Forum of discussion at 12h30 on the topic “Financial and Academic Exclusion and the implications for gender issues” in Shepstone 6.

All are welcome!

For more information, call 082-4074959 or 084-3082071.