The Wits University SRC has rejected an offer by management to gives students a month’s grace to pay their registration fees.

Wits SRC secretary general Fasiha Hassan told News24 they were demanding free registration for all academically qualifying students.

In a statement, the university said those who couldn’t afford the fees had until March to pay. Those who couldn’t afford it by then needed to make arrangements with the university.

Hassan, however, said that if the university did not meet their demand for free registration by March, they would shut the institution down.

Earlier, students claimed they were forcefully removed from Wits Senate House. Hassan said they would not tolerate any violence from campus security.

The university said students had been removed from Senate House because they had refused to leave and had disrupted registration.

“This morning [Tuesday], campus security evicted about 20 students that were occupying the ground floor of Senate House and who effectively disrupted the university’s registration process yesterday [Monday]. The students were asked to leave last night but did not do so, and were thus evicted this morning.

“The occupation infringed on the rights of students who wanted to register, many of them the poorest of the poor that required assistance from the university.”

The university suspended on-site registration on Monday and Tuesday and students were requested to register online and telephonically. The university said on-site registration would continue from Wednesday. News24