Stellenbosch University (SU) has, like all other universities today, experienced protest action as part of the national campaign for fee-free university education. Management remains committed to financial support for poor and working-class students.

Workers and students from other institutions joined SU students today and about 160 protesters moved around on the Stellenbosch campus with the goal of disrupting activities. Despite additional security measures and access control to buildings, some lectures were canceled and buildings had to be temporarily closed.

This afternoon security personnel had to protect the glass doors at the entrance to the Faculty of Education from the group of protesters and four people were arrested after an altercation with security personnel and the South African Police Service.

SU remains committed to ensuring that our students can complete the academic year and that they will be safe. Lectures end on Friday 21 October and the examination begins on 25 October. Arrangements have been made for staff to electronically record lectures that have been postponed and to make it available on SUNLEARN for students. The point of departure is that academic and administrative activities should continue at SU; and that students, staff and university property should be protected.

All activities will continue on Tuesday, October 11, and the rest of the week. Each protest creates new challenges but also new learning experiences. Additional measures have been instituted for tomorrow.

All 12 students who were suspended pending completion of a disciplinary process have been informed that their suspension relate to assault and actions that prevented other students from participating in academic activities, such as blocking access to the library; disrupting tests and lectures and tearing up test papers.

Staff and students are urged to remain calm and exercise patience, not to respond to provocation or to confront protest groups. Regular updates are published on the University's website (link to the page) and also communicated via social media to the campus community. The SU Management also calls on all students to, in the interest of their academic careers, focus on the upcoming exam.

The SU Management remains committed to engage with the student community via the Student Affairs division as has been the case over the past weeks since Prof Wim de Villiers, Rector and Vice-Chancellor, and Ms Tonia Overmeyer, Dean of Students held discussions with students lasting five hours on 17 September 2016.