Overview

• University management ordered Qwaqwa students to vacate the campus within 24 hours, suspended lectures at Bloemfontein and South campuses, and restricted movement from 7pm to 7am.
• The council-approved policy ends provisional registration from 2026, requiring full registration only once fees or external funding are confirmed.
• Under the amended system, students owing more than R30,000 must reduce their debt to that level to register, with UFS citing a review that found the old mechanism ineffective and promising earlier bursary processing and targeted financial advising.
• Student representative bodies demand reinstatement of provisional registration, a R50,000 debt cap under the acknowledgment of debt process, and registration for returning students awaiting funding, saying talks with management have stalled.
• Police deployments and multiple arrests were reported across campuses, with several students expected in court, as Parliament’s higher education committee condemned the conduct of private security guards at UFS.