Rhodes University in South Africa has become a hostile place in recent weeks. The brutal and pervasive police action meted out to students has destroyed the university as a place of learning. Despite the fact that students no longer feel safe on campus, the university has set up rigid rules for exams.
The new exam arrangements set by the institution leaves students without a viable option. Our choices are: either write exams now on an occupied, unsafe, and traumatic campus, or write them later without the option of supplementary exams. As per the university's email, if you choose the latter, you also have to vacate your residence within 48 hours. This is unrealistic for international students and those of us who simply cannot afford to leave at such short notice, as it is not practically and financially viable.
As it currently stands, the university is not giving students a fair choice. Instead, they are pressurizing students to write under volatile conditions; in the sense that if they write in November they are guaranteed supplementary examinations.
Sign this petition now to move all examinations to January, in order to give all students the necessary time to prepare for, and write examinations in a safe environment.
