The University of the Free State’s (UFS) Student Representative Council (SRC) at the Qwaqwa campus says students should return to campus next week.

SRC Secretary, Nondumiso Langa, says students should be given enough time to study for tests to be written this week.

Her statement comes after the campus was shut down last week during a protest where students handed over a memorandum of demands. UFS has on Tuesday issued a statement that the Qwaqwa campus will be re-opened on Wednesday.

Langa says if students go back to campus they will be expected to write tests and submit assignments.

“The lecturers will not have enough time to mark and the results may not be as pleasing as they should be. However, you may also find that there are students who will have to write close to five tests in one day. No-one is thinking about them and they will not be able to write all of those tests. We should also take into consideration that some students have been traumatised during the protests while others are still injured. How do we expect them to write tests when they haven’t received any counselling? If they postpone the test dates, the students will have time to settle in and study. Basically, our stance as the SRC, together with the students, is that we are not going back to campus on Wednesday.”

REFILWE GAESWE