Students at Durban

During ongoing unrest at the University of Durban-Westville (UDW) owing to political activism and a continuing struggle between the Azanian Students' Movement (AZASM) and the Student Representative Council (SRC), whose membership was mostly South African National Students Congress (SANSCO) based, students staged a boycott of lectures. The situation at the campus had deteriorated to such an extent that students went to lectures armed amid widespread intimidation. The immediate cause was the deregistration of 180 students who had not paid their fees at the University. Police entered the campus and sprayed the students with teargas and purple dye. At a later meeting of about 2 000 people, the SRC and the Combined Staff Association called for a full university assembly to be held to discuss why police had come on to campus. Students decided to stay away from lectures until the university had resolved the matter. The situation was partly resolved following an announcement that students who had been deregistered could register and write examinations. This led to the return of students to classes. An inquiry into campus incidents was instituted, but very little evidence was received.