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Late applicants pay the penalty

DESPERATE: There were long queues and chaos yesterday when prospective students forced their way on to the University of Johannesburg campus in Auckland Park to register for this year's studies. PHOTOS: ANTONIO MUCHAVE
DESPERATE: There were long queues and chaos yesterday when prospective students forced their way on to the University of Johannesburg campus in Auckland Park to register for this year's studies. PHOTOS: ANTONIO MUCHAVE

THOUSANDS of hopeful applicants queued outside the entrance of the University of Johannesburg's Bunting Road Campus yesterday.

Many were there to apply at the university for the first time and others were attempting to finish their application process, which needed their matric results.

Most were left disappointed when at about 10am a loudspeaker announced that UJ could not accommodate the large numbers.

"What about the people who have been here since Saturday? Some have have slept here, spent the night to be in line," Zanele Sangweni said.

Parent Rebecca Khumalo, of Rustenburg in North West, said she had been queueing since 5am.

"We come from different places. There are even people from QwaQwa here. Money is a problem for us. They say come on Monday, Monday becomes Tuesday. It is not fair," she said.

UJ registrar Marie Muller said: "The planned intake of undergraduate first-year students for 2012 is capped at 11000. To date, based on the applications received during 2011 at UJ's student enrolment centre, we have conditionally admitted 17000 applicants for the first year."

"UJ processed close to 85000 applications in 2011 for studies at UJ in 2012 as opposed to 76665 in 2010 for the 2011 intake."

The students have to pay a late registration fee of R350.

Last year, about 30000 applicants stood outside the university's Kingsway Campus.

Yesterday, about 10000 people were allowed through the university gates.

"More people will be allowed tomorrow again. We had to close to process applications," spokesman Herman Esterhuizen said.

Nomalanga Kessah, whose son was one of the applicants at UJ, said: "When I got here at about 4am the queue was already long. When I finally get to the front, the gate was closed. Things are chaotic and we are told to go home. This is very poor service."

Those left outside the entrance and told to come back today complained about the lack of information and guidance from the university.

"I feel that it should have been more organised," Candy Harris, who was there to apply after dropping out of Wits University last year, said.

Stellenbosch University spokesman Martin Viljoen said only programmes that had not reached their full student capacity would take late registrations. Candidates who wanted to apply to study in 2012 had to contact the relevant faculty administrator.

But not all universities accept late registrations.

University of Cape Town spokeswoman Mologadi Makwela said registrations closed on September 30. The university had received about 34600 applications.

The University of Pretoria's Sanku Tsunke said applications closed on September 30 and they received more than 40000 applications for 13000 places

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