Pretoria – The South African Union of Students (SAUS) has raised concerns over gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF), and corruption at higher education institutions.
SAUS president Yandisa Ndzoyiya said during a media briefing that they were concerned about the scourge of GBVF in institutions of higher learning, particularly around this period.
The union held a briefing on Wednesday to state its readiness for the 2023 academic year.
During the briefing, Ndzoyiya said the fact that crime statistics suggested that 10% of all GBVF cases in South Africa occur within institutions of higher learning, was alarming to them.
“The registration period in particular, often exposes students and makes them vulnerable to being sexually violated due to having no accommodation.
“They are also likely to fall prey to other forms of violent crimes such as being robbed of their belongings whilst temporarily homeless during the registration period,” he said.
He made it clear that the union would work with Higher Health to strengthen the fight against GBVF in institutions of higher learning throughout the registration period.
Ndzoyiya said they were also worried about corruption and malfeasance that is plundering our institutions of higher learning.
“The biggest protagonists and perpetrators of these crimes are often university officials, business persons and government officials.
“We must deal decisively with this scourge of corruption at our institutions, as left to its own devices will most certainly impair the sector,” he said.
He called on the university officials, particularly vice-chancellors, to work within the confines of our state laws and legislation to combat the scourge and do this collectively with all interested stakeholders within the sector.
Meanwhile, the SAUS president urged universities to adhere to the agreements they have in place between the department, NSFAS and universities, to allow all NSFAS-approved students to register without any upfront payments.
“It is clear that these students will not have the required upfront payments in order to register,” he said.
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