North West University’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has refuted allegations of expulsion of some students at the Potchefstroom College of Agriculture.
According to the Department, students residing in the college residences were notified about needing to evacuate their rooms by the end of the first semester to accommodate off-campus final-year students attending short lectures as part of their Work Integrated Learning Program. The Department says that some students did not comply and instead resorted to a protest after receiving their evacuation notices.
The spokesperson for the Department, Emelda Setlhako, says due to the intensity of the protests and the burning of some college properties, a decision was made to evict all the students who refused to vacate their rooms and who threatened the College management. Setlhako says, “The policy states that no students are allowed in any of the student residences during recess except the students who are on the Work Integrated Program. The same policy further states that students staying in college residences should be notified two weeks before evacuation. In this case, the students were notified well in advance.”