At a meeting on Friday, 5 October 2007, Council considered the demands raised by the SRC and other student organisations in the context of the disruptive behaviour that the University had experienced in the three days prior to the scheduled Council meeting. Council resolved as follows:

• Council regrets, deplores and condemns the disruption of academic activities, the intimidation of staff and students by acts of violence and threats, and the destruction of property.

• Council reasserts the principle that the pursuit of academic research, teaching and learning is sacrosanct, even while other members of the University community are exercising their rights of freedom of speech and freedom of association.

• Council urges student leadership to commit to ensuring that normal University activities recommence forthwith.

• Council requires management to investigate allegations of misconduct by all parties including the SAPS through a mechanism to be determined in agreement with the Presidents of the current SRC and the SRC elect, and to report back to Council on the findings.

• The Council also endorsed the agreement that had been negotiated between the student leadership and the University on the 4th of October 2007. A copy of this agreement follows this statement.

Council took full account of the strong feelings that the students held regarding the fee increases for 2008. After lengthy deliberations Council approved the following:

• Council reduced the proposed 18% increase for the Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) to 9% for 2008. It also confirmed an overall range of fee increases which average at approximately 8%.

Special notice was taken of the concerns regarding the Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) degree. When the University incorporated the Johannesburg College of Education, the fee differentials were significant. Over the years in the interests of the strategic need of the country to supply well qualified educators, Wits responded by reducing the normal increases faced by the rest of the student body for students registered for the B.Ed. The introduction in 2007 of meaningful financial aid packages for aspirant teachers has meant that many of the education students now have financial support, which did not exist previously. In this context the significant cross-subsidisation of the education programmes needs now to be reduced, though not entirely eliminated. For this reason a far more realistic adjustment to the fees of education students may have to be applied. Nevertheless, education students will continue overall to pay fees that are less than those required in many other programmes until parity is reached with the other 299 qualifications.

• Council approved a remission of fees for returning postgraduate international students from outside of SADC making their liability equivalent to that of SADC students. New students in this category would be charged the approved fee.

Council confirmed the proposed increases for the international postgraduate students who live outside of the SADC region in the light of the comparative cost of these qualifications to these students when juxtaposed with other destination countries for international students. However, despite the fact that advanced notice of this new fee had already been given in 2006, Council accepted the appeals of the student body and agreed that returning international students living outside of SADC and granted the above special remission of fees for the 2008 academic year which would reduce the liability to the same level as SADC students.

• Council revised the upfront payment for 2008 and fixed it at R5000. Students are urged to pay their fees in full at the beginning of the year if this is possible.

On the recommendation of the University’s financial experts, Council determined several years ago that the University should seek to obtain some one third of student fees in the form of an upfront payment each year. This contribution would reduce the annual need for overdraft facilities to bridge operational costs until receipt of the first tranche of the state subsidy is received on 1 April each year. Repeated concessions to students over the years has meant that the upfront payments contribute significantly less than the desired amount.

Prof. Loyiso Nongxa

Vice-Chancellor and Principal

7 October 2007