The Student Representative Council (SRC) of Wits University is in mourning along with the rest of the student body after it was discovered that two female students had taken their lives. A statement released by the SRC shared the condolences of the body with the family, friends and the student body at large.

The SRC pointed at mental health and pressures faced at university as contributing factors to the suicides. The statement read, “It is again with great sadness to report that in the past two weeks we have again lost lives through suicide. It is triggering to see young people deciding to take their lives mainly because of the pressure the university places upon students.’

Due to the unfortunate incidents, the SRC has called on the university to assist in dealing with the matter. They demanded that all exams should have a minimum of a 24-hour window period and that every student should be allowed to defer an exam if they express that they feel pressured without being subjected to the documentation process.

They added, “These demands are informed by the behaviour of privileged lecturers who do not want to acknowledge the state we are in as a country, with the load shedding, the social injustices that affect students’ ability to actively participate in online teaching and learning.”