Extremely Long Queues at UJ
By: Leon Ngomane Under this extremely hot sun, hundreds of students are queuing outside the University of Johannesburg to enquire whether they have been accepted to study their chosen courses or they should change to other courses depending on their marks. These long queues still persist even while the university has announced that it is not accepting walk-in students and that queries should be done online – on the given link. “We have set up a link on our website that can be accessed by a mere cellphone, mostly for late applications” stated the university management. However, most of those in the queue are on the waiting list for space to study in the university. Some students say that they prefer applying in person rather than online. Ntombi Zitha was also on the queue to ask whether she was accepted to study law (LLB) since she was on a waiting list, because she applied last year, but there was no space so she decided to apply again to study this year.
“The flyers UJ staff are handing out say that we should wait until we receive either email or SMS confirming whether you are accepted or not. Some students come from far to apply. Siphokazi Godlo from Western Cape says she wants to study teaching but she hasn’t applied.
“I managed to raise enough money to travel from home to apply in person”, she said. She further stated that she could not apply on time because the registration closing date was September 30, by that time she did not have enough money.
She says she doesn’t want to live in the Western Cape, has it is easier for a black women here in Gauteng. Potential students are queuing calmly and are being let into the campus slowly to prevent chaos. The queues move slowly because the computers are acting up since from Monday morning. South African Universities pleaded with potential students to apply on cach.dhet.gov.za for a possible space, noting that applications closed last year. The Minister of High Education, Hlengiwe Mkhize is meeting with the university vice-chancellor on Monday to discuss free education and concerns about the walk-in students.
