The South African Union of Students (SAUS) has threatened to shut down the University of Pretoria (UP) if the institution continues to refuse the reregistration of students with pending criminal cases.

SAUS’s stance was prompted by the university’s move last week, in which 16 letters requesting those students to motivate their application for reregistration were issued.

“We have asked students [who have pending criminal cases following last year’s #FeesMustFall protests] to give reasons as to why their application for reregistration should be considered favourably,” said a spokesperson of the university.

“We want to know what undertakings they are willing to give to avoid similar incidents during this academic year.”

SAUS general-secretary Sthembiso Ndlovu felt the UP’s requests were “hogwash”.

“We will not encourage those students to write the letters. Instead, we will be go to the university to encourage them not to hand in those letters,” Ndlovu said.

“As long as they have qualified and are able to continue, they must continue regardless of the criminal cases.”

But the university said it had a responsibility to ensure academic programmes continued without disruptions.

“The safety of our students and staff is important to us and we’ve put the necessary measures in place to ensure the 2017 academic year proceeds as planned and without any disruptions,” the spokesperson said.

“We will work closely with students, staff, campus security and, if necessary, police in order to protect the academic project, which is right at the centre of our mission.”

But Ndlovu warned that SAUS would shut the university down if it insisted on its “planned course of action”.

“We want to hear from the affected students first. “From there, we will engage with the student representative council,” Ndlovu said. “If that racist [UP vice-chancellor Cheryl] De la Rey insists they can’t register, we will shut down the university.

“We won’t work according to her terms and conditions.”

UP registration continues for nonaffected students, with classes set to commence on February 6.

– rorisangk@citizen.co.za