BLOEMFONTEIN: Academic activities across all three campuses of the University of the Free State (UFS) recommenced on Monday, 20 October, after being abruptly halted due to student-led protests prompted by the UFS executive committee’s (exco)decision to discontinue provisional registration for the 2026 academic year.
The resumption of programmes came just three days after the UFS exco and the student bodies at the three campuses − the main campus and south campus in Bloemfontein, as well as the Qwaqwa campus − reached an agreement that provisional registration would rather be phased out over a period of two years.
The university’s exco, the Institutional Student Representative Council (ISRC) and the Campus Student Representative Councils (CSRCs) signed a memorandum of agreement on Wednesday, 15 October. The university confirmed this significant step in a statement issued on Thursday.
The protests resulted in disruptions of academic programmes and the temporary closure of the campuses.
As a result, multi-disciplinary law enforcement agents, comprising private-public security and members of the police, were deployed for safety at three university campuses.
The meeting that resulted in a deal being struck was held in response to the decision taken on 26 September against provisional registration. Unhappy students demanded that the decision be reversed to immediately end provisional registration for the 2026 academic year.
In terms of the agreement, the phasing out of provisional registration has been restructured. This means that from 1 January 2028, all students will be on a fully registered system.
“In a spirit of working towards a fairer, more equitable, and sustainable financial support system for all academically deserving students, the university management and the student leadership agreed that provisional registration would be phased out over a period of two years. This phased approach allows the university time to assess the risks students are facing with a view to assisting students,” said Lacea Loader, senior director for communication and marketing at the UFS.
“In recognition of the challenges students face, the outcomes of the meeting reflect the university’s ongoing commitment, and it ensures that all students are supported within a financially sustainable framework.”
Loader said the committee remained committed to ongoing engagement with student leadership through open dialogue that reflects the university’s values.
Parallel to the agreement reached on Wednesday, it was announced the academic calendar had been amended to ensure the successful completion of the 2025 academic year.
“The end of the fourth quarter will be postponed, and the start of the main end-of-year examinations will be moved to 10 November. This decision applies to all students, except final-year students in the Faculty of Health Sciences. They will commence their examinations on 3 November to enable them to graduate in December 2025 and begin their community service or internships in January 2026,” confirmed Loader.
The memorandum was signed after parties agreed to the following terms:
■ Phase out provisional registration over a period of two years.
■ Staggered concession of R70 000 in year one and R600 000 in year two. Thereafter, full implementation of a fair, equitable, and sustainable support system will take place.
■ All UFS-registered students to have access to official academic records.
The university explained the origin of the decision on provisional registration was rising levels of student debt. A review of the 2025 registration data found provisional registration is not an effective mechanism to support students. Findings revealed each year, an average of 8% of students register provisionally. In 2025, the majority of students who registered provisionally and signed payment arrangements were unable to meet commitments: 58% paid no fees, while only 14% managed to settle their fees in full.
“As a result, most of these students would still face deregistration by mid-year due to unresolved historic debt. Notably, students who successfully converted from provisional to full registration did so primarily through UFS-funded bursaries, rather than personal payment,” it was explained.
