The National Student Representative Council (NSRC) met with UNISA’s executive management team on 2, 5 and 6 August to discuss and resolve issues that caused the NSRC to implement a shutdown of all UNISA campuses.
However, an agreement was finally reached by all parties, calling off the UNISA shutdown. Many issues were discussed in the meeting, including:
- An extension of assignment due dates;
- Free supplementary exams for the October/November examination period;
- An extension of the final payment date for the initial minimum payment to confirm registration;
- Students gaining access to their examination scripts, to be reviewed at no additional cost;
- A status report on the laptops received by NSFAS-funded students;
- A status report on the current maintenance of UNISA campuses
Mr Wadzanai Mazhetese, UNISA’s SRC President, reported that the continued delayed release of exam results was a major concern by students. Queries on the inaccuracies found on student’s final exam results also came to light, with some students claiming that their final marks did not reflect the months of hard work they’ve put in for preparation of their exams.
However, students will now be able to access their scripts at no cost upon approval by the Council. Students would be able to apply for a rewrite of their exam if any discrepancies were found upon review of the script.
“October/November exams pushed back”
Mr Mazhetese also said that the NSRC and UNISA’s executive management team agreed on a later start of the October/November exams. The start date has moved back from 7 October to 21 October. Despite the pushback of the exam date, the release of UNISA exam results will start from 15 November.
The final date of the release of exam results will be on 20 December. This gives students over 2 weeks to prepare for registration of the 2020 academic period, which begins on 3 January 2020.
Additionally, students who qualified to write a supplementary exam in the October/November exam period will not have to pay the exam fee. This option is only available to students who registered after 8 February.
Also Read: UNISA Application 2020
While the closing date for Semester 2 registration remains 16 August, UNISA students have up till 30 August to pay the initial minimum payment fee in order for their registration to be finalized. As an added bonus, students who registered will have access to their study material on myUnisa. Students will now have a chance to prepare their assignments.
Due dates for assignments were pushed back to 6 September. This only relates to assignments that were due before 6 September, not after. However, this ruling excludes assignments from signature and/or online modules.
Mixed Reactions to Outcome of Meeting
However, a number of students have questioned the ill-timing of the UNISA shutdown by the NSRC. While they understand that there were issues that needed resolving, some suggested that the NSRC is causing more harm than good – especially during the time when students want to register for their UNISA modules.
One student in particular mentioned how she had to travel a long distance to register, only to find out that she was unable to enter the campus due to striking action. Others have stated that further delays would only result in leaving students unprepared for the next exam period.
While students may relish the extended study time due to the moving of the exam period, only time will tell whether these predictions will prove true.
Also Read: UNISA Semester 2 Registration Extension
Last Updated: 11 August 2019
