The newly introduced student contract at Wits is not just a bureaucratic document – it is a silent threat to the academic futures of many.
Disguised as a formality, the student contract introduced in 2025, contains conditions that are not only unjust but it is also out of touch with the lived realities of the very students the institution claims to uplift.
Among its many rigid conditions, the contract states that it is the student’s responsibility to ensure that all fees are paid on time and within the year of study. This includes tuition and accommodation fees, regardless of whether the surety is a parent, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), or a bursary sponsor.
According to the 2025 comprehensive university fees book, fees are due and payable by June 30, 2025. Failure to meet the deadline may result in the denial of access to university facilities, libraries, or even student accommodation. Let’s be clear; this policy is unfair, it is punitive, and insensitive to the everyday struggles of students.
Much of the student populace is made up of those from historically disadvantaged and economically vulnerable backgrounds. Some were only able to register through the university’s hardship fund. Others were housed in residences through hardship accommodation because they had nowhere else to go. These are not students who are refusing to pay, they simply cannot afford to.
Equally disappointing is the Wits Student Representative Council’s (SRC) delayed response. It wasn’t until students began raising concerns on social media – after the university’s reminder to students, to sign the contract before the deadline on April 2 – that the SRC finally spoke up on April 1. Why did it take public pressure for them to act? Why were they quiet then? Why are they quiet now?
Many students signed this contract, not because they agreed with it, but because they were scared. Scared of being blocked from registration. Scared of being left behind. Scared of the unknown consequences if they didn’t comply.
A contract signed under duress is not a contract freely entered into. It raises serious ethical questions about informed consent and institutional power.
Wits can do better. It must do better.
FEATURED IMAGE: Nthabiseng Baloyi
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