Strict access control to be implemented at UP
All visitors to campus will be required to sign a register at the Roper Street entrance and will need to provide a valid form of ID. No vehicles will be permitted to enter at the Prospect Street entrance, but pedestrians can use the turnstiles at this gate.
The implementation of strict access control follows after disruptions and violent clashes on UP's Hatfield campus relating to UP's language policy review. Prof. de la Rey noted that the language policy has not yet changed and that misinformation is being sown on social media regarding the use of Afrikaans as a language of tuition. Currently all courses at the university are presented in English, with some subjects also available in Afrikaans.
According to an article on Netwerk24, EFFSC-UP chairperson Kabelo Mahlobogwane said that the university management is arrogant and refuses to provide a platform for negotiation. In the memorandum handed to UP management on Thursday, the EFFSC-UP, ANCYL (UP), Pasma (UP), Sasco (UP) and UPrising state that they "will not stop with [their] program up until all [their] demands are met and responded to".
Prof. de la Rey indicated that UP has a constitutional responsibility according to a recent white paper, along with the 25 other universities, to explore the development of other African languages in tertiary education, and says that this gets lost in the current debate.
The academic calendar has been revised to make up for the lost week, and is available on the UP website.