Central SA
Case of UFS students postponed to November─── ZENANDE MPAME 08:46 Sat, 11 Oct 2025
The nine University of the Free State students will be back in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday (4/11) on charges of public violence.
The students were granted bail on condition they will not enter the campus premises until the case is finalised on Friday (10/10), when they made their first appearances.
The students were arrested on Thursday (9/10) after throwing stones at the police vehicles on patrol at the Bloemfontein campus. In total, 22 students were arrested on all three campuses.
The arrests took place at various campuses where protests continue over the university’s decision to phase out provisional registration. The university decided to move all academic activities of its three campuses (Bloemfontein, South, and Qwaqwa) online, effective from Thursday (9/10), following the disruptions relating to the phasing out of provisional registration at the university.
‘Phasing out of provisional registration’
“Provision must be made for students residing at the campus for accommodation outside the campus premises. The court case will resume on 4 November,” said Free State police spokesperson Thabo Covane.
On Friday, 26 September, the Council of the UFS approved the phasing out of provisional registration, effective from the 2026 academic year. This means students will need to be fully registered once their fees or funding have been confirmed.
The phasing out of the provisional registration process does not affect students who have confirmed funding from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas) or full alternative bursary funding, and if their historic debt does not exceed R20,000.
As part of this transition, no deregistration of provisionally registered students will take place in 2025. An extended grace period will apply, allowing students to settle their outstanding balances by December.
“The student representative council (SRC) met again with university management to explore a possible way forward,” said Bloemfontein campus SRC president Ogorogile Moleme.
“The university presented four proposed concessions based on student concerns, but made it clear reversing the decision to end provisional registration was not an option. The SRC rejected the concession with the argument they did not address the financial realities faced by most students.
“The situation remains unresolved, and student leaders say they are still awaiting a meaningful response from the university.”
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