Students frustrated as UFS discontinues provisional registration. Image credit: Viki Stuurman
(The Post News) – The University of the Free State (UFS) released a statement on Monday, 06 October 2025 citing that as of 2026, provisional registration will be discontinued. Stating that “students who have not secured funding by the time of registrations for the 2026 academic year, will not be allowed to register.”
Police Spokesperson Confirms Student Arrests
Students embarked on protests since Wednesday, urging the university management and the Students Represantative Council (SRC) to reconsider that decision as it does not cater for students who are financially disadvantaged. According to Police spokesperson Thabo Covane, thirteen students have been arrested for public violence amid the protest at UFS Qwaqwa campus, while five other students have been arrested at the main campus, Bloemfontein.
Covane added that police have been deployed at the institution’s three campuses. “Members of Public Order Police Unit Bloemfontein arrested five male students aged between 18 and 22 for public violence on the grounds of the university at Nelson Mandela Drive Park West campus in Bloemfontein at about 10:00.”
“The students were arrested for throwing stones at police vehicles on patrol at the university. The police continue to conduct patrols in and around the campuses premises,” he said.
The university confirmed that this decision was discussed with the previous SRC. “In agreement with the previous Institutional Student Representative Council (ISRC), the university resolved to phase out provisional registration at the end of 2025,” said UFS.
UFS President Disagrees With The University’s Decision
SRC president, Orogogile Moleme said, “The issue of the outgone SRC is not true. We even requested the minutes where this issue was detailed. The outgone SRC told us that the minutes were fabricated. We have requested the [UFS] management to send us the recording of the meeting where the outgone SRC agreed. However, they did not agree.”
According to Moleme, students frustrations and violence has led the university to deploy SAPS. “Let’s have a peacefull march, there is really no need for us to vandalise the institution facilities. We should work together and find a way to negotiate the release of our students,” he said.
UFS Students Asks SRC To Step Down
Students raised there concerns with the newly elected SRC, stating that the president is useless and he must resign. “We voted for you because we wanted a leader not a negotiator, every solution you come up with involves communicating. You saw that we tried communicating with the university on Wednesday but where did that take us, no where,” said Banele Mthethwa, a student who will be affected by the university’s decision.
Mthethwa added, “If you feel like that seat is hot, resign president. We won’t be led by cowards.”
Another student who asked to remain anonymous stated that, “The SRC is useless, they are just thinking about their pay cheques and their image within the university rather than fighting for students rights. Orogogile must step down, imagin if he acts like this on the first protest, think about the other coming strikes.”
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