Parent killed in UJ stampede

Pretoria - A parent was killed and at least 10 others injured on Tuesday morning when a stampede occurred outside the University of Johannesburg's Auckland Park campus.

According to reports, thousands of last minute applicants camped outside the gates of the institution from the early hours of the morning in the hopes of getting accepted for enrolment in 2012.

However, when gates opened at around 7.30am, students tried to force their way inside, leading to a stampede.

Professor Marie Muller, Registrar of the University of Johannesburg, said the university had processed close to 85 300 applications in 2011 for studies at UJ in 2012, whilst the figure was 65 000 in 2010 for the 2011 intake.

Muller said the planned intake of undergraduate first-year students for 2012 was 11 000, subject to the amount of returning senior students. To date, 17 000 applicants for first-year undergraduates have been conditionally admitted for studies subject to their final results and space availability in the various programmes in accordance with the formal Enrolment Plan approved by the Department of Higher Education and Training.

"UJ may enrol 48 900 undergraduate and postgraduate students in the 2012 academic year - 35 percent must be undergraduate diploma and close to 50 percent must be undergraduate degree programmes.

"We will register the senior students first commencing on 23 January followed by the first-year undergraduate registration that commences on 30 January; online registration will be available on 16 January 2012," said Muller.

Meanwhile, the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) has also seen high volumes of applicants. The university had received approximately 60 000 applications by 15 December 2011. There are approximately 9 000 available first year places at undergraduate level.

University spokesperson Nomonde Mbadi said 2 800 students have been offered places and the applications process would continue until all available places have been filled.

"UKZN can accommodate an estimated 43 000 undergraduate and postgraduate students in an academic year. It should be noted that for a limited period after the release of the Grade 12 results, walk-in applications are allowed on the three main campuses from applicants who meet admission requirements to programmes which are not full," Mbadi said, warning that applicants who only just meet the minimum requirements may not secure places.

Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande has encouraged those who are not accepted at university not to lose hope as there were many options available to them in the post school system.

Options include Further Education and Training colleges, which offer a range of programmes that cater for most students' needs and interest ranging from engineering, business studies, art, music, to food services.

The minister is expected to brief the media later today about the UJ incident.