Dear Fellow Students, Staff and Alumni
I write to you at the time of contradictions, on the one hand tumult occasioned by an unprecedented industrial action which causes considerable operational disruptions and great harm to the image, reputation and integrity of this great institution, the University of the Land, and on the other hand, considerable commitment by others for Unisa's institutional continuity and success whilst contested matters are attended to.
I am fully aware that many of you remain keen and willing to make your way to our various campuses to fulfil your roles of serving our stakeholders, especially our students, but are prevented from doing so by the hostile presence of the colleagues at the entrances and roads leading to some of our campuses, more so in the Pretoria and Florida campuses.
The situation has been exacerbated by the persistent ugly scenes of the blocking of the roads and access points with rubble and tree logs, the burning of tyres, the throwing of spikes on the roads as well as blatant intimidation.
Nonetheless, I have been heartened by the reports and observations that, in the midst of all this, there are Unisans who continue to find ways and means to ensure that some of the key services rendered by the university continue unabated.
As you know, last Friday was the first day of the examination period for the first semester of 2022. I was very pleased to receive feedback that the first day went relatively well and that it is all systems go for the rest of the first semester examinations. I have also been assured that in the odd circumstances where there may be some challenges, the teams that have been set up to manage the examinations are able to identify these and intervene quickly.
It was pleasing to also learn that contrary to false reports being peddled in other spaces to the contrary, our Semester Online Applications, which opened on Tuesday, 10 May 2022, are running well. This application phase, opened only for selected qualifications at Undergraduate, Honours and Postgraduate Diploma levels, will close on 31 May 2022.
On behalf of Executive Management and the rest of the university community, I extend our heartfelt and collective thanks to the colleagues in these spaces, who continue to represent the university brand with such commitment and diligence, in spite of the prevailing challenging environment. Our heartiest thanks also go to the colleagues in the various other spaces who continue to do their work, albeit under difficult circumstances.
Please be assured that we remain committed to continuing formal and legal engagement with our colleagues who are engaged in industrial action for the benefit of the advancement of the Academic agenda, the principles of Ubuntu, fairness and social Justice. We, however, wish to state categorically as Management that Universities are social institutions whose mandate is to form students as Intellectuals who serve society and are at the centre of socio- political and economic transformations through knowledge construction and dissemination. This a calling and a mandate that Unisa will not relent on. We thus request all colleagues who are protesting/ striking to do so within the policies of the University and the laws of the land, which among others, do not condone violence, intimidation of staff and students and/ or criminal conduct. We commit to ongoing deliberations to find a resolution to the ensuing industrial action.
To all of you who continue to support the Academic agenda we would like to acknowledge and commend your good deeds. These are not going unnoticed. We thank you profusely for flying the Unisa flag high at this trying moment.
Well Done and Keep It Up.
Best Regards
Prof Puleng LenkaBula
PRINCIPAL AND VICE-CHANCELLOR
Publish date: 2022-05-16 00:00:00.0