The Fees Commission says it has decided to cancel the scheduled hearings in Bloemfontein and Kimberly‚ following the disruption of its hearings in East London last week and Cape Town this week.
The commission said it decided to cancel the hearings that were due to be held on Thursday and Friday in order to review the way in which public hearings were conducted and to focus on protecting both the lives and property of stakeholders‚ members and staff.
The commission said it strongly condemned the consistent disruption of its work in East London and Cape Town.
“The spectacle that we witnessed in the past week and this week was done in an extremely disrespectful manner directed towards the members of the Commission as well as the stakeholders who were invited to participate in Set 1 of the public hearings‚” commission spokesman Musa Ndwandwe said.
The commission also condemned the racist rants that were directed at the Commission’s chairman Judge Jonathan Heher as well as intimidation of the Vice-Chancellors of the University of Fort Hare‚ Mvuyo Tom‚ and of the University of Cape Town‚ Dr Max Price.
The commission said it had consulted extensively to ensure that the views of all the sectors of the society were reflected during the deliberations.
This was reflected during the public hearings where student representatives‚ student movements‚ universities‚ TVET colleges‚ unions and various individuals formed part of Set 1 of the hearings.
The commission has held public hearings in Pretoria‚ Vanderbijlpark‚ Nelspruit‚ Thohoyandou and Durban without incident.
“We are of the view that the group responsible for the disruptions does not represent the majority of the student community.”
Ndwandwe said the groupings which embarked in this disruption spree were those who were unhappy about their suspensions from their respective institutions of learning and had decided to use the platform of the public hearings to vent their anger.
He said they demanded that the commission enforce universities to uplift their suspensions. He said they threatened that if the commission did not instruct universities to do so‚ they would not allow the commission to sit.
“The Commission is neither mandated‚ nor does it have authority to intervene in any disciplinary matter between students and management of universities‚” Ndwandwe said.
Fees Commission cancels Bloemfontein‚ Kimberly public hearings in wake of disruptions
The Fees Commission says it has decided to cancel the scheduled hearings in Bloemfontein and Kimberly‚ following the disruption of its hearings in East London last week and Cape Town this week.
The commission said it decided to cancel the hearings that were due to be held on Thursday and Friday in order to review the way in which public hearings were conducted and to focus on protecting both the lives and property of stakeholders‚ members and staff.
The commission said it strongly condemned the consistent disruption of its work in East London and Cape Town.
“The spectacle that we witnessed in the past week and this week was done in an extremely disrespectful manner directed towards the members of the Commission as well as the stakeholders who were invited to participate in Set 1 of the public hearings‚” commission spokesman Musa Ndwandwe said.
The commission also condemned the racist rants that were directed at the Commission’s chairman Judge Jonathan Heher as well as intimidation of the Vice-Chancellors of the University of Fort Hare‚ Mvuyo Tom‚ and of the University of Cape Town‚ Dr Max Price.
The commission said it had consulted extensively to ensure that the views of all the sectors of the society were reflected during the deliberations.
This was reflected during the public hearings where student representatives‚ student movements‚ universities‚ TVET colleges‚ unions and various individuals formed part of Set 1 of the hearings.
The commission has held public hearings in Pretoria‚ Vanderbijlpark‚ Nelspruit‚ Thohoyandou and Durban without incident.
“We are of the view that the group responsible for the disruptions does not represent the majority of the student community.”
Ndwandwe said the groupings which embarked in this disruption spree were those who were unhappy about their suspensions from their respective institutions of learning and had decided to use the platform of the public hearings to vent their anger.
He said they demanded that the commission enforce universities to uplift their suspensions. He said they threatened that if the commission did not instruct universities to do so‚ they would not allow the commission to sit.
“The Commission is neither mandated‚ nor does it have authority to intervene in any disciplinary matter between students and management of universities‚” Ndwandwe said.
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