Buildings torched during University of the Free State protests
Students angry at changes to registration system
University buildings in Qwaqwa were damaged during protests. Photos: Tladi Moloi
The University of the Free State Qwaqwa campus was shut down on Monday night after protesting students blocked roads, broke windows and torched some buildings.
University management suspended lectures and instructed students in residences on campus to leave within 24 hours for their safety.
Free State SAPS spokesman Mmako Mophiring said police are investigating a case of malicious damage to property.
The protests, which started last week, followed the university’s announcement that it would discontinue provisional registration from 2026. Provisional registration allowed students who could not afford to pay fees immediately to register.
Students say this will exclude poor and working-class students who battle to meet financial requirements at the start of the academic year.
Mcebo Hlatsi, of the Student Representative Council (SRC), said students had protested peacefully until police and bouncers had started “brutally beating students”.
University spokesperson Lacea Loader confirmed that on-campus academic activities had been suspended on Tuesday.
She said under the new financial system “academically qualifying students will be fully registered once their fees or funding have been confirmed”.
Students funded by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) would also be registered. “This will provide greater certainty about registration status and enable the gradual phasing out of provisional registration. The UFS is the only university in South Africa that allows students to register with outstanding fees,” she said.
Loader said the university strongly condemned the violent and destructive behaviour during the protests and was assessing the extent of the damage on its Qwaqwa campus.
Students catching taxis after university management ordered all students to leave its Qwaqwa campus.
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