The results of the Wits poll will be released tomorrow, however, management says the poll will not be the only deciding factor on whether the academic programme resumes on Monday.
The Wits poll which is running today will not decide whether classes will resume on Monday, October 3, but management will take it into account as a contributing factor when making the decision.
Wits spokesperson, Shirona Patel, told Wits Vuvuzela that the intention of the poll is to gauge the opinions of staff and students on the direction they would like the university to take, following two weeks of #FeesMustFall protests.
On Wednesday, the Wits SRC approached the High Court to interdict the “referendum”, but the court ruled that the university could continue with the poll.
Former SRC president, Mcebo Dlamini, said since [the university] was calling it an “opinion poll”, which would not have legal force, “we are allowing people to have an opinion, but it will not have any fruitful outcome”.
First year Computer Science student, Yvette Marebane said the poll was a way for management to retaliate against the protest and if the university opens after two weeks, the protests will have been in vain.
Marebane said, “the poll was not effective, and the only solution is for management to address the demands and needs [of students] and produce something tangible.”
According to Patel the poll results will be released on Friday after undergoing verification by independent auditing firm SizweNtsalubaGobodo.
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WITS VUVUZELA, Wits poll a tactic to deter the movement say protesters, 28 September 2016
WITS VUVUZELA,#HabibsReferendum takes a spicy turn, 28 September 2016
