HUNDREDS of devastated students, who have been standing in the longest queues to register at the University of Mpumalanga, have been turned down due to a lack of space.
Sbongile Chauke, a worried parent from Mkhuhlu in Mpumalanga, said she has been coming to the university for the past three weeks to register her child but was unsuccessful.
"My child passed matric with flying colours. She's here to register for a Bachelor in Developmental Studies. She was there almost every day for two weeks, and I was there to support her. I saw everything. The registration is closed today, according to the university management. They were not allowed to enter the premises anymore," she said.
An aspiring student, Thoko Msibi (23) from KZN, said she arrived at 3am with blankets and waited in the queue outside the university hoping to register.
"This is really bad. I wanted to register for a Bachelor of Science Degree. But we were told the institution was full," she said.
Another student, Sthembiso Malope (20) from Matsulu, said his dream of protecting nature was doomed.
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"I came two weeks ago for late registration for a Diploma in Nature Conservation Advanced. The institution chased us away, saying they're now full," he said.
University spokesman, Tlangelani Ubisi, said: "At this point, we've reached our enrolment targets for the 2024 academic year. No additional students will be admitted. We'll attend to students with admission letters."
He said for the year 2024, they only had spaces for 3 215 first-year students. Meanwhile, the university received more than 200 000 applications.
"In addition, we also had some prospective students who came in numbers to our campus while they didn't apply. As a result, we had to attend to bigger numbers which resulted in longer queues. The reality is that we are unable to admit all students who apply as some don't meet our admission requirements and in some instances is due to space constraints," he said.
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