NMU announces suspension of academic activities

All academic activities and major events at Nelson Mandela University have been suspended until further notice.

However, the university said in a statement on Monday that other university operations would continue, unless circumstances changed, and that staff were expected to continue working to avoid disruption to operations.

After a meeting of senior management to finalise NMU’s response to the coronavirus crisis, taking into account various scenarios as well as President Cyril Ramaphosa’s address to the nation on Sunday night, the university said it had taken the following decisions:

• All academic activities, including classes, research, assessments and work-integrated learning have been suspended immediately;
• Online or virtual learning, and other alternative platforms will be used until after the Easter weekend on April 14;
• All events, conferences and public gatherings on campuses have been cancelled and autumn graduation is postponed until further notice. The registrar’s office will be in contact with graduates in this regard;
• International travel is prohibited, until further notice. The university also advises staff and students against domestic or local travel, unless the latter is absolutely necessary;
• International visitors will not be allowed on campus until further notice;
• All staff and students who have returned from international travel in the past 14 days are required to self-quarantine if they have not already done so.

The university’s vice-chancellor, Professor Sibongile Muthwa, said the wellbeing of students and staff remained its top priority.

“As such, since the outbreak was announced, we launched an awareness campaign sharing reliable information about how the virus is spread and tips on how best to protect ourselves and minimise the risks of spreading the virus through posters and internal and online platforms.

“While academic activities have been suspended, university operations continue, unless circumstances change.

“Staff are expected to continue working to ensure no disruption to university operations,” she said.

Muthwa said the university was closely monitoring global and national developments around Covid-19, adding that should the situation change the institution would adjust its plans accordingly.