A poll conducted by the Witwatersrand University showing that 77% of staff and students want lectures to resume on Monday was a victory for students who had been silenced, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Friday.

Only a small group of individuals were determined to keep the country’s campuses shut, the party said.

“This is a victory for the overwhelming majority of students who had been silenced through violence and intimidation,” said DA spokesperson on Higher Education and Training, Brenda Bozzoli.

“The DA urges all students to allow our campuses to reopen across the country. The right to peacefully protest should not break the law and undermine the rights of others to learn.”

The poll conducted on Thursday showed that 77% of respondents wanted lectures to resume, with 23 voting against it. The university said there were 21 730 responses to the poll, with 16 739 voting for lectures to resume, while 4991 voted “no”.

The students and staff were asked: “Should Wits open on Monday 3 October subject to appropriate security protocols being in place?”

The process was conducted by an auditing company after the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) indicated it would not assist the university in conducting the poll.

Students were sent a text and were asked to respond with either a “yes” or a “no” while staff received an email with instructions on how to log in and vote.

An urgent court bid by Wits student leaders on Wednesday, to halt the poll failed. The court ruled against the students and indicated that everyone’s voices needed to be heard.

University campuses have been rocked by protests since last year as students continue to demand free higher education. An announcement by Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande that fee increases for 2017 would be capped at eight percent brought another wave of protests as students demanded no fee increases until government implemented free higher education.

Lectures have been suspended at most universities as the unrest continued.