MAKHANDA, Eastern Cape — A recent Rhodes University student protest regarding a controversial new debt-payment protocol has led to the arrest of 13 individuals during the institution’s graduation ceremony.
Public Order Police utilized stun grenades, tear gas, and rubber bullets to disperse a crowd of approximately 100 demonstrators who had gathered outside the university. According to accounts from the scene, the students initially engaged in a peaceful demonstration, sitting on the lawns near the monument with signs and singing.
Police officers read an interdict to the crowd, giving them a five-minute warning to disperse. When the students refused to leave, authorities deployed tear gas and fired rubber bullets, ultimately detaining 13 students. The arrested individuals, aged between 19 and 23, have been charged with contravening a court order.
The demonstration was organized in response to the university’s newly introduced 2027 protocol regarding the payment of student fees. Under the revised guidelines, self-funded undergraduate students carrying outstanding debt are required to pay at least 50% of their total owed balance before they can register for the upcoming academic year. Alternatively, students must enter into a payment arrangement requiring minimum monthly installments of 3,000 rand.
Demonstrators argue that the new financial requirements place an undue burden on financially vulnerable students. Many students report carrying debts that run into the tens or even hundreds of thousands of rands, making the mandate to pay half of their outstanding balance prior to registration nearly impossible to meet.
In response to the unrest, a university spokesperson expressed surprise at the escalation, noting that the administration was guarded following recent engagements with the Student Representative Council (SRC). The spokesperson highlighted that a meeting had taken place earlier in the week, during which SRC leadership indicated that their concerns were neither dismissed nor discarded.
According to the university, both parties had agreed that further work was required to determine what could be accommodated, how the changes would be implemented, and what the broader financial and operational implications would be. This collaborative assessment was intended to inform a follow-up engagement between the university and the SRC, which had been scheduled for the following week.
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