Police have arrested University of the Free State (UFS) students protesting the phasing out of provisional registration for the 2026 academic year.
Provincial spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Thabo Covane told The South African on Thursday evening that police arrested nine students at the Bloemfontein main campus and 13 others at the QwaQwa campus.
They are expected to appear in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s court on Friday on charges of public violence.
Phasing out provisional registration: What does it mean?
In an earlier statement, Covane said the university requested police deployment across its three campuses to curb possible unrest “in response to alleged renewed threat of protest action linked to students’ debt, NSFAS funding challenges, and termination of provisional registration from 2026.”
Covane said the request followed threats of protest that had been circulating on social media.
In a statement on Thursday, the UFS said its council approved the phasing out of provisional registration for the upcoming academic year last month.
This means only students with confirmed funding will be allowed to register, including National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) beneficiaries, bursary-funded students, or those with historic debt of R20,000 or below.
The university cited rising student debt as its main concern. It said an average of 8% of its student body registers provisionally each year, but many are unable to settle their debt by year-end.
The institution added that students who successfully converted from provisional to full registration were mainly recipients of university-funded bursaries, not self-funded students.
“To address this, and in agreement with the previous Institutional Student Representative Council (ISRC), the university resolved to phase out provisional registration at the end of 2025 and implement a proactive, student-centred financial support strategy,” the university said.
Students threaten action against ‘exclusionary’ termination
The university’s Democratic Alliance Students Organisation (DASO) said it would challenge the decision, arguing that it “unfairly excluded” financially disadvantaged students from receiving an education.
The group accused the university of targeting students from poor and working-class backgrounds.
“It is not a simple administrative adjustment; it is a deliberate barrier that unfairly targets poor and working-class families already struggling the most,” DASO said in a statement.
“By removing the critical lifeline of provisional registration, UFS is effectively shutting the doors of higher education to students who rely on delayed funding disbursements from institutions like NSFAS or other bursaries,” the organisation said, calling for the policy’s suspension.
