ULSA: Unisa Law Students Association Ekurhuleni Region

Unisa - The University of South Africa RESPONSE TO THE DEMANDS OF STUDENTS.
19 January 2022

For Immediate Release
19 January 2022

ULSA VICTORY STATEMENT: OUTCOMES OF THE ULSA-LED SHUTDOWN.

The Unisa Law Students Association embarked on rigorous campus shutdown at the national region of the University (Tshwane) as demonstration of utter grievance to the university. The association derives its mandate from law students and the general Unisa student populace at large. The association embarked on a robust ULSA-Led campus shutdown from 10th to the 17th January 2022. Principal to the campus shutdown were demands ranging from Intellimali, withheld examination results, Supplementary Exams for the Jan/Feb exam period and distribution of data to students, Qualification audit, Graduations, Telecentres, Acknowledgement of debt forms, NSFAS, and Higher Certificate offers.

INTELLIMALI AND NSFAS:

ULSA registers to the entire Unisa student populace that a victory to the students has been recorded: we have defeated an evil capitalist-driven system of Intellimali of which students are in the affirmative that since it surfaced in the university, the engaged relationship has been nothing but parasitic and abusive one. In a multi-political and academic gathering which was chaired by the President of Law Students at University of South Africa, the President welcomed the response from the Vice Chancellor and Principal of Unisa, Prof Puleng LenkaBula; in which the Vice Chancellor categorically stated and guaranteed students that Intellimali will be scrapped and no longer continue its services to the university. Therefore, INTELLIMALI IS NO MORE AT UNISA!
Withal, ULSA urges Unisa Enterprise mandated by Council to accelerate and conclude the process of exploring better Innovative means of distributing bursary funds to beneficiaries. This remarks our agreement with the university that, Laptops and Learning Material Allowance will be distributed to students early as soon the registration period for semester 1 concludes. And, for students who will struggle to settle their outstanding fees; we have made available the Acknowledgement Of Debt Form, which is available to self-funded students.

EXAMINATION RESULTS:

During the 2021 Sep-November examination period, the university conducted and saw a participation in over three million (3,000,000) module examinations, which were written in the period. It is trite and noteworthy of challenges which affected students, like technical glitches—during a time where the country was at a peak of experiencing loadshedding where upon receiving their results; factored to that was the wrongful flagging for academic dishonesty, and subsequently Disciplinary steps pending, withheld results for not using the invigilator App and the general outstanding results.
With these challenges, ULSA advanced that over 300 000 students who were presented with the challenges of withheld results due failure to use the Invigilator App and those who were flagged for disciplinary to be granted supplementary examinations. There were over thirty six thousand students who were flagged for academic dishonesty without any concrete proof against them that they were engaged in dishonest academic activities. Likewise, we advanced like proper legal scholars that the university should give such students supplementary exams since the university does not have proof against them.
Conversely, in our interventions we delegated the Secretary General, with the aim to also ensure that the management reduces the costs of a supplementary because it does not make financial sense to charge exorbitant fees which were previously charged due to the manner in which exams were conducted. We argued that with online examinations, the only expenditure is on the marker and data which students need to access exams; unlike before where there would be an expenditure for a venue and an invigilator. Therefore we managed to bring the university to a concession, thus, cost for Supplementary will be cut down. And, Aegrotats will be granted for free of charge and student account will not be charged for same.
Moreover, there was a group of lazy and entitled students who were identified for academic dishonesty. Such students were subjected to disciplinary measures by the university. We vehemently condemn with the strongest possible terms, any acts of academic dishonesty—such acts ruin the reputation of our institution. Conversely, we do not desire to see any student lose their studentship, we believe that through education that is how we can succeed. Conversely, we pleaded that such students must not be subjected to any harsh sanctions like suspension or expulsion.
Noting the increase in disciplinary cases, ULSA will establish a Student Disciplinary and Advisory Committee which will comprise of Law students who will represent students at the Disciplinary committee of the university; no student must be suspended.

DATA AND TELECENTRES:

We have agreed with the management that students who will be participating in the Jan/Feb examinations must have adequate resources to enable them to participate in the exams successfully. Students will therefore receive 30 gigs of Online Learning data to enable them for such participation. We urge students to ensure that their details are updated to benefit from the data that is currently being rolled out to students. And, Telecentres will be made available for students who are far from computer access available on campus. These telecentres are tailored to cater for students to enable them to have access in their nearest area.
Qualifications Audit and Graduation:
The university has earlier in what was a communication notified that the audit process is still ongoing and students should at least receive letters of completion by Feb 2022. We advanced that the delay in the audit process is thus detrimental to our students since many of them are missing out on employment opportunities, thus it presents a disadvantage to them. Thus, we demanded that the university must capacitate more staff to ensure that the audit process is accelerated.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought about a restructure on how we do things as a people and thus affected activities like physical graduations. This came about as there were lockdown regulations on gatherings in previous levels. With the current level, we see that we can now receive quite a reasonable number of people in gathering which occurs indoors, like a graduation ceremony. A graduation ceremony a time which all the sleepless and hard-work are celebrated by students, and it is a very emotional and remarkable moment many would attest for a lifetime. We advanced couriers have proven detrimental because we have students who to date have not received their qualification certificates because they got lost through the process. Students should therefore be graduating at a ceremony.

DESPATCH:

We are extremely opposed to the idea of courier delivering study material to the account that, it has proven that it is not reliable and safe in of delivering our study material if not on time. In the previous academic years students experienced challenges in getting their study material, some did not even receive it due to the courier process. Therefore in our interventions, we have demanded that counter despatch must resume and students must receive their study material at campus easily and reliably. Therefore we can confirm that counter despatch has been reopened, and thus, we encourage students to choose counter despatch because it is more reliable and flexible.
However, we note the working conditions which the staff is subjected at despatch and call for the university to resolve the problem.
Higher Certificate Offers:
With the high demand of the qualifications in the College of education and Law; it is noteworthy that these Colleges have now been oversubscribed and the university can no longer continue to take more than the threshold given by DHET, of 370 000. Conversely, in our interventions we demanded that the university must therefore allocate Higher Certificate students in qualifications (Colleges where there’s space) which relate with what they intended to do. However in the final analysis, should the university fail to allocate these spaces by Monday the 24th of January, ULSA will embark on a full-blown campus shutdown—where all campuses of Unisa will be on a shutdown.

REGISTRATION:

With the challenges which returning students have been facing in the previous weeks, some are still outstanding since there is still a backlog due to the worker’s picket and the shutdown, which has direly impacted. Therefore we demanded that Registration and the date for minimum payment be extended to the 31st of January 2022, to allow ventilation of these issue and also to allow matriculants reasonable time to register. Moreover, Summative assessment should be extended by a week or more—such will depend; this however will be confirmed through the Management Committee.

The leadership of ULSA therefore encourages all Law students to participate in the 2022 activities which the association will cater for the enhancement of our law students in the university.

HAMBA NATHI!

Issued by,

Bono Masakona,
President
Unisa Law Students Association

Shatadi Phoshoko
Secretary General
Unisa Law Students Association

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 10 JANUARY 2022 ULSA STATEMENT ON THE UNIVERSITY’S INTETION TO EXTEND THE INTELLIMALI CONTRACT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 10 JANUARY 2022 ULSA STATEMENT ON THE UNIVERSITY’S INTETION TO EXTEND THE INTELLIMALI CONTRACT

The Unisa Law Students Association notes with utter fervour, the unscrupulous and backdoor attempts to re-appoint the service provider—INTELLIMALI to continue its services to the Unisa student populace. Intellimali is a financial service provider which cardinal to its services is the distribution of funds on instruction by a client. Part and combined, the service provider observes and executes a mandate in terms of the contractual agreement entered which in this context is to hold and distribute bursary funds from NSFAS to students concerned. In 2019 the university entered into a contractual agreement with Intemalli which would take effect until December the 31st of 2021, in terms of which the service provider was to distribute NSFAS bursary funds to beneficiaries. The conclusion of same has yielded as a regressive process, wherein Unisa students can relate variably without wavering—affirmative of challenges varying in their magnitude and make. Our morale and principle does not permit us to silence on matters which directly, and whereof indirectly affect our constituency. We reiterate and reaffirm our unwavering support to our students. Wherefore, we hereby vehemently condemn capitalistic driven regressive attempt to reinstate the Intemalli Contract without due processes. At this point, such re-appointment of Intemalli to continue with its sluggish, capitalistic, and mediocre services; would be an illegal process which ULSA will not allow to see light for the sake of integrity. ULSA therefore, warns against the re-appointment of Intellimali as a service provider to distribute NSFAS funds to beneficiaries. Conversely, we demand that all remaining funds owed to students to be transferred to all students urgently. It is trite that, the relationship of Intellimali and students was an abusive one thus deserves to be dissolved without further consideration. We are immensely invested in the idea that the business of the University is our concern; and thus, we rest our weight on the structure of the university, Unisa Enterprise—appointed by Council and Management of the university, to take up the esteemed duty to explore new innovative means of ensuring that students receive their bursary funds expediently. Coupled with this issue is the ongoing exclusionary gesture portrayed and executed by the Division: Student Registrations and System Integrations, under two actors who fail in their duty of acting. Part of the problems we have is because of two individuals who are consistent in ensuring the frustration of our students—being a barrier to many from entering the gates of higher education. To date we have students who applied yet have not received any feedback for their applications for their intended qualifications, and registration has commenced; and coupled to that we have since noticed an increase in rejections of applications, of students who were previously doing Higher Certificates in particular. We therefore call that Kokong and his errand boy Vinesh, a racist man who has been acting for an extensive period in the management of Student Registrations and System Integrations to vacate office. They have detrimentally proven their incompetence to run the critical division. We are esteemed that they displayed their incompetence and gross mediocre prior to their appointment to the positions—that would have drastically crippled the system, thus many of students would not be able to access the doors of education. Gross dysfunction of the division implies that the university will lose its meaning, as its prime stakeholders will be in the peripheries. Therefore, the two should vacate their positions before matters get worse, to allow capable people to do the job. Furthermore, the issue of CTA students continues to haunt us, as the university in its approach fails to address this issue expediently and provide academically sound solutions which will favour the excellence of our students. To date, there are CTA students who are denied concessions out of discretion by management. This stands between the completion of their respective qualification. We therefore call on the university to bring redress to the issue—therefore granting the concerned students concessions. With all the demands we put to the university, we grant the university management thoughtful time until Friday the 14th of January 2022 to think and respond positively. Entrusted with this duty, knowledge and wisdom acquired from qualifications they hold should assist in arriving at a solution. Should the university management fail to respond positively as per our demands, we will ensure that the university is on a full-blown campus shutdown, without fail!

-ENDS-

Issued by,
Bono Masakona
President: ULSA
Shatadi Phoshoko
Secretary General: ULSA

The ULSA: Unisa Law Students Association Ekurhuleni Region
Task Team.