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By Goitsemang Tlhabye 
Oct 2, 2020
Pretoria: Students from the University of Pretoria and Tshwane University of Technology yesterday joined their counterparts from other higher education institutions and began returning to campuses.
This followed the announcement by the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology, Dr. Blade Nzimande, for college and university students to return to their institutions.
Nzimande said the decision to allow all students to return to their campuses followed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement that the country was now at lockdown level 1.
He said that the return of students to their tertiary institutions would be subject to restrictions linked to their own risk assessment due to their local context and conditions.
Tertiary institutions could now accommodate 50% of students in their respective residences, he said.
However, University of Pretoria spokesman Rikus Delport said the institution had chosen to continue classes primarily online as the primary mode of teaching and learning during the current semester, which ends on November 13.
He said the university would give priority to seniors and graduate students who require access to laboratories, technical equipment, studios and other facilities on campus to complete their courses. This would also include freshmen and others who are experiencing difficulties with internet connectivity or necessary access to internet-enabled devices.
The final group would be made up of students whose home environments were not conducive to studying; They will also be allowed to return to campus, Delport added.
At the Soshanguve campus of Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), students were seen heading to campus with groceries and other items.
Safety is about keeping a close eye on and ensuring everyone wears a mask and observes physical distancing.
Kgopotse “Tiny” Molautsi, a third-year textile design student at the university’s arts campus, said adjusting to the “new normal wasn’t easy at first.”
Molautsi said that she and her family were eager for her to return to campus as she was not dealing with online teaching as her course involved a lot of physical labor.
“I came back on September 14 and it was not easy; It takes a while to get used to being apart from your friends, not being in large groups, and doing things the way we used to.
“But everyone is cooperating and understands why we have to follow the rules. It gets easier the longer we do this and my family can’t wait for it to end. “
Tshwane University of Technology had yet to comment on its plans to return to campus late yesterday.
Pretoria News
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