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Higher Education Committee Resolves to Conduct Urgent Oversight Visit to the University of Fort Hare

Republic of South Africa: The Parliament
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Following the recent student protests at the University of Fort Hare that led to the destruction of the university property, the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education has decided to conduct an urgent oversight visit to the university’s Alice Campus in the Eastern Cape on Tuesday, 21 October 2025.

The Chairperson of the committee, Mr Tebogo Letsie, lamented the extent of the damage and the disruption to academic activities. He said the destruction is estimated to be between R250 million to R500 million.

“The violent student unrest could have been avoided if the university management had engaged with students and allowed the Student Representative Council (SRC) elections to take place as requested. Instead, the university management, decided to appoint an Interim SRC after the term of the elected SRC expired. The destruction was severe and affected critical infrastructure, including academic records,” said Mr Letsie.

He added that the situation might affect the university’s ability to verify the academic records of students who are due to graduate because of the damage to the administration building.
“We hope that the committee’s intervention will help bring all parties together to unpack the root causes of this unrest and to find lasting solutions,” said Mr Letsie.

Regarding the University of the Free State (UFS), Mr Letsie said the committee had also delegated some of its members to go on a fact-finding mission and to engage with management with a view to restoring stability. The UFS unrest was an unnecessary provocation of students, and it was an irrational decision where management decided to do away with provisional registration for the 2026 academic year.

Mr Letsie said to worsen the situation, the UFS management also decided to demand the evacuation of students from residences within 24 hours. This exacerbated the student unrest, and many students funded by NSFAS do not have the means to travel to their homes abruptly. “The excessive use of force by armed private security personnel towards unarmed students was seriously concerning,” emphasised Mr Letsie

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.

Following the recent student protests at the University of Fort Hare that led to the destruction of the university property, the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education has decided to conduct an urgent oversight visit to the university’s Alice Campus in the Eastern Cape on Tuesday, 21 October 2025.

The Chairperson of the committee, Mr Tebogo Letsie, lamented the extent of the damage and the disruption to academic activities. He said the destruction is estimated to be between R250 million to R500 million.

“The violent student unrest could have been avoided if the university management had engaged with students and allowed the Student Representative Council (SRC) elections to take place as requested. Instead, the university management, decided to appoint an Interim SRC after the term of the elected SRC expired. The destruction was severe and affected critical infrastructure, including academic records,” said Mr Letsie.

He added that the situation might affect the university’s ability to verify the academic records of students who are due to graduate because of the damage to the administration building.
“We hope that the committee’s intervention will help bring all parties together to unpack the root causes of this unrest and to find lasting solutions,” said Mr Letsie.

Regarding the University of the Free State (UFS), Mr Letsie said the committee had also delegated some of its members to go on a fact-finding mission and to engage with management with a view to restoring stability. The UFS unrest was an unnecessary provocation of students, and it was an irrational decision where management decided to do away with provisional registration for the 2026 academic year.

Mr Letsie said to worsen the situation, the UFS management also decided to demand the evacuation of students from residences within 24 hours. This exacerbated the student unrest, and many students funded by NSFAS do not have the means to travel to their homes abruptly. “The excessive use of force by armed private security personnel towards unarmed students was seriously concerning,” emphasised Mr Letsie

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