Now that the country is moving to Level 1 of lockdown, institutions and students are now expecting for all of the student body to be allowed back at campuses. Unisa has now released measures they will be taking as a distance learning institution.
Unisa has said:
According to the Department of Higher Education, students may return to campuses under Level 1 Coronavirus (Covid-19) regulations and Unisa must prepare to receive students back. However, in doing so we must all ensure that we keep staff and students safe
Unisa will maintain a 50% capacity on campuses and one way of doing this, is to make sure that no Unisa venue exceeds a 50% capacity. Venues which are bigger will have a maximum of 250 people as long as it's not exceeding 50% of the normal capacity.
They will also be implementing a rotational duty roster that will see a maximum of only 50% of staff allowed at the offices at a time.
Unisa is set to open it's Sunnyside Campus and Florida Science campuses on 29 September. This is good as students were seen protesting last week to have campuses reopen to solve problems students were having.
The University also said, "Unisa regional offices and other student service points will start opening for students from 1 October 2020 onwards." If you wish to pay a visit to a Unisa regional office, you will have to first make an appointment through the Unisa Booking app which Unisa says will be communicated to students soon.
To ensure safety, Unisa said:
Social distancing protocols must be adhered to at all times. This includes two-metre distancing and the wearing of masks.
The Academic and Professional Staff Association of the University of South Africa (APSA)'s branch secretary Dr RS Netanda accused UNISA of having poor leadership and management in a letter titled 'Save UNISA from poor leadership and corrupt individuals’.
This letter made its way to social media over the weekend, which is currently causing arguments to arise between students and the university staff.
UNISA was accused of poor leadership and governance and that how the university was managed was "shockingly weak".
Minister of Higher Education, Blade Nzimande, will be holding a media briefing on 30 September to announce measures at Universities and TVET Colleges now that the country has moved to Level 1 of lockdown.
New Level 1 Coronavirus (Covid-19) regulations at Unisa for students. https://t.co/JnQfesmr2Z
— Unisa (@unisa) September 27, 2020
