A poll by the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) will gauge “the thoughts of staff and students on the resumption of the academic programme on Monday‚ if the appropriate security measures are in place”.

“If the majority of students and staff support the reopening on Monday‚ the university will call upon government and the police to meet their obligations to protect the university’s property and to safeguard the lives of all students and staff‚” spokesperson Shirona Patel

While “all responses will remain anonymous”‚ she said the “university believes that the voices of the majority of students and staff need to be heard”.

Wits wants the “Independent Electoral Commission to oversee this process and to verify the results” of the poll it will run later this week.

This came after it had “received hundreds of emails calling for the academic programme to resume”.

To address the “the unfolding and growing crisis in the higher education sector”‚ Patel said Wits is calling for an urgent meeting between vice-chancellors and the ministers of higher education and training‚ justice and police.

“All university activities remain suspended until further notice‚” she added.

Wits vice-chancellor Professor Adam Habib on radio on Monday shared a “heart-breaking” plea for help from a student who is too afraid to stand up to protesters but is desperate to study.

“I know for a fact that there are many more of us but we fear to stand up against those protesting‚ scared of being threatened‚ bullied and deemed racist‚” the second-year student wrote.

News of the poll came as the Wits confirmed that one of its employees died as a result of protest action at the institution last week.

Wits management took to Twitter to express its sympathies to the family‚ friends and colleagues of the worker.

“The university has received a report that an employee of one of our service providers who worked in a residence passed away last week.

“Last Tuesday‚ students released a fire extinguisher in the Jubilee Hall of Residence‚ which affected a cleaner in the building‚” a statement from the university said.

The student representative council posted a photo of students noting the death on its Twitter account ?@WitsSRC: “Students observe a moment of silence for the worker who passed away at Wits. We are investigating the exact cause of this tragic death.”

This was followed by: “We will be sending a delegation of students and academics to the family of the worker. Intliziyo zethu zibuhlungu. Sithi alale ngoxolo”.

 - TMG Digital