Institutions of higher learning are facing the same rampant crime that is  synonymous with the rest of the country.

This is according to Mandisa Makhaye, a lecturer at the University of Zululand in the faculty of criminal justice.

She said this issue is one that needs serious attention.

“Many would perceive universities as safe environments where education is the common language. However, students often become victims of crime within the campus and even their own residences,” Makhaye wrote in an

She said there are variables to be observed when studying the phenomenon of crime on campus, including home environment, negative peer influence, inadequate parenting style, poor coping skills, low self-esteem, and drug and alcohol abuse.

“Many students enter university with negative family, social  and economic experiences in their backgrounds as a result of a shaky high school life that left the student traumatised or even motivated to engage in criminal activity — factors which act as a catalyst in the crime that occurs on campus” Makhaye said.

The most common crime is theft, she said, because students have valuable goods such as laptops, cellphones and the latest gadgets — which she calls predisposing factors as to why crime takes place.

“Among theft and robbery there is assault as well. Students have a night-time lifestyle where there is alcohol and substance abuse, which leans on the type of assault that happens (under the influence)” she said.

“Sexual violence is also on the rise on campuses.”

Makhaye said statistics are outdated because of under-reporting. She concluded that the sector needs laws that bind institutions of higher learning to not only report criminal activity , but to also have policies in place that monitor crime.

Seven people have been arrested in Ladysmith, northern KwaZulu-Natal, after nearly two weeks of protests and the torching of trucks.

The town has been in chaos after six department of social development cars and five trucks were set on fire during protests calling for the removal of Alfred Duma local municipality mayor Vincent Madlala.

In the early hours of Friday, police were patrolling and clearing rubble on the R103, which has been a hotspot for protests, when they were alerted to activity on the N11 freeway.

“Upon arrival, they spotted a suspicious minibus standing next to the barricades. All the suspects were caught red-handed setting up barricades on the road. A search was conducted and six old tyres, petrol and an axe were found inside the vehicle,” said police spokesperson Col Thembeka Mbele.

Mbele said that the men, aged between 24 and 47, were charged with public violence. They were expected to appear in the Ladysmith magistrate’s court on Friday.

On Tuesday, a government delegation met business leaders, mayors and aggrieved residents in a bid to find a solution to stop the protests, which have brought the town to a standstill and cost it R30m a day.

KZN premier Sihle Zikalala condemned “the violent actions that have led to the destruction of property, torching of trucks and water shortages in some parts of the town”.

Load-shedding will be suspended at 11pm on Friday but will resume from 7am on Saturday, Eskom said..
Image: 123RF/loganban
Eskom will not implement load-shedding for eight hours, starting on Friday night.

The power utility reduced load-shedding to stage 3 from 2pm on Friday, and later announced that it would be terminating the rotational power cuts from 11pm. However, load-shedding will return at 7am on Saturday, at stage 2.

Eskom said this was due to a drop in demand going into the weekend.

“Tomorrow [Saturday] we will start implementing stage 2 load-shedding from 7am. We will keep the country informed of further developments,” Eskom said.

Meanwhile, the power utility said that Koeberg Unit 1 would be brought back onto the grid from Saturday morning — “a day earlier than initially expected”.

“This will help increase generation capacity and ease the scale of load-shedding,” Eskom said.

Unplanned breakdowns or outages were at 11,995MW as at 4.40pm on Friday, and planned maintenance outages at 4,708MW.

“As the ageing fleet is currently constrained, unpredictable and vulnerable, we advise South Africans that the stage of load-shedding may change at short notice should there be any unexpected change in the generation system performance,” Eskom said.

Institutions of higher learning have cancelled graduations and other formal events due to the coronavirus.
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Higher education institutions have cancelled graduations and other formal gatherings amid the spread of the global coronavirus pandemic.

Stellenbosch University said on Friday it had decided to cancel the graduation ceremonies scheduled for the week of March 31 to April 3.

“This decision, which was not taken lightly, will mitigate the risks associated with large gatherings and exposure to individuals who may have travelled internationally.

​​“We realise the importance of graduation in the lives of our students, parents, family and friends and it is regrettable that we find ourselves in this situation,” the university said in a statement.

“All graduands will receive their qualifications in absentia, and certificates and academic records will be made available to you during April 2020. Communication in this regard will be sent to graduands in the following week,” SU said.Students were advised to visit the graduation webpage from March 24 for information on the relevant logistical arrangements.

Meanwhile, Prof Mamokgethi Phakeng, vice-chancellor at the University of Cape Town, said the institution had postponed the installation of its chancellor.

Additionally, it had also decided to reassess travel and events, such as conferences and symposiums, and considering different ways to continue teaching and learning at UCT while limiting the risk of spreading infection.

“With this in mind, the university leadership has taken the decision to postpone the installation of our chancellor on Monday, March 16, and to suspend the March graduation ceremonies, which were scheduled to start on Thursday, March 19.

“Meanwhile, the registrar’s office will send details to graduands about how they can receive their graduation certificates,” Phakeng said.

She said that as deeply important as these events are for the campus community, it is much more important that they take responsible decisions that will help to avoid the spread of the coronavirus.

Both institutions said this was not a light decision to make and that they understand the disappointment it will create.

The 121 South Africans who were stranded in Wuhan by the global coronavirus pandemic are en route home.

FlightRadar shows that SAA flight ZS-SND took off at about 9pm from Wuhan airport in China.

The flight is expected to land in South Africa on Saturday.

Speaking to TimesLIVE at 9.45pm on Friday, SAA spokesman Tlali Tlali confirmed that the crew was “airborne”.