Pretoria - Students at Wits university, where protests have been ongoing for most of Wednesday, have now blockaded all the gates leading into and out of the institution.
A lecturer who asked to remain anonymous told News24 that students were continuing with their protest and staff could not leave the premises.
"They have blocked all the entrances and exits. Management refuses to call the police to resolve the issue. No one can get to their cars in the parking lot. We have also been told that [this] might last until the early hours of the morning," he said.
Classes and academic activities at the institution were suspended on Wednesday following a protest over fee increases. The university said there was an altercation on Wednesday morning and some classes were vandalised at the Wits Business School.
University spokesperson Shirona Patel said management was devising a plan to ensure that staff members could leave the university and go home. She confirmed that the gates were still blocked.
"We are trying to open an alternative gate for the staff to leave. We are also giving the students about 30 minutes to an hour to disperse. Failure to do so will see the university calling the police,” said Patel.
She added that management had advised staff to leave their cars on the premises and to use the pedestrian gate to go home.
http://m.news24.com/news24/SouthAfrica/News/Wits-staff-locked-in-by-protests-20151014
