Students at Wits University have been encouraged by the institution to participate in a poll to determine whether its academic programme should resume after a shut-down following protests.

The #WitsPoll will take place on Thursday from 07:00 to 16:00, the university said.

Meanwhile students marched to the South African Chamber of Mines to handover a memorandum on Wednesday.

Senior executive Vusi Mabena said the chamber would review the document and respond to it.

He said the chamber shared the concerns of students and the wider community regarding the future of tertiary education in South Africa.

"The chamber urges students and the authorities to do all they can to ensure the rapid normalisation of campuses across the country and to secure and protect the resources of all institutions of higher learning."

Students started protesting last week after Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande announced that universities could increase fees by up to 8%.