The Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) has closed all campuses and ordered the evacuation of its residences following an arson attack and escalating violent protests.
In an urgent notice to staff and students on Tuesday, 18 August, the university said the shutdown would remain in place until further notice as a safety precaution.
The university said the decision was taken after fire officials responded to a blaze at the Old Education Building on the Bellville campus.
CPUT described the incident as a further escalation of violent protests and warned that the situation had reached a point where someone could be seriously injured “or worse”.
“Continued violent disruptions, torching of buildings, and malicious attacks on institutional infrastructure have forced university management to close all campuses until further notice and immediately evacuate the residences,” it said.
“Unruly individuals, acting in bad faith, with the sole purpose of making the university dysfunctional, have left Management with no other choice but to act swiftly and decisively.”
CPUT Academic Activities Suspended
CPUT said all academic activities would stop with immediate effect, while staff members would continue working remotely from home.
Students and staff living in university residences have been given until 16:00 on Wednesday, 19 August, to vacate the residences.
“The safety of our campus community is our top priority, and the evacuation is now our only option to de-escalate the violence and protect lives.”
The university has not indicated when campuses and residences will reopen.
Politicians Will Engage With University Leadership
The Chairperson of Parliament's Portfolio Committee orn Higher Education Walter Letsie, addressed students protesting at the campus. "We will engage with management. We do not think it makes sense that within 24 hours students must vacate. The majority of you are NSFAS beneficiaries. The majority of you have no food, even now. The majority of you you have nobody at home working. Government has confirmed that we must give you tuition, residence, allowances because you have no means".
Letsie criticised the destruction of property during the protests. "There has been destruction of property at CPUT. We have indicated that we do not support any destruction of property - because this is not just for the current generation of students, it is for future students".
He also criticised the university management for the way they had handled the protests. "From what we are hearing the strike could have been avoided if the management could have sat down with the students". He highlighted that they are not self-funded students and it was management's decision to put them in accommodation that is above the NSFAS cap.
While SRCs across the country have called for the scrapping of the NSFAS accommodation cap, Letsie has supported it and criticised the universities for charging too much for accommodation.
President of the CPUT SRC Liyabulela Gela also criticised the CPUT management. "Not all of these students stay within Cape Town. Where do you expect them to get the money to go home? Not only are they creating panic into the students, they are creating panic into their parents as well".
These are people who do not want to take accountability of their actions. The demands are very clear, they just need to be addressed, and met, and then we move forward", said Gela.
CPUT Protests Linked to Student Debt Plan
The shutdown follows several days of protests and unrest at CPUT linked to the university's proposed plan to recover approximately R4.2 billion in student debt.
Under the proposed plan, students would have been required to pay a mandatory R7,000 registration fee as well as a portion of their outstanding student debt upfront.
The proposal would also have removed the option for students to register by signing a debt pledge.
Students opposed the plan and delivered two memoranda of demands to CPUT management. Following the protests, the university withdrew the proposed debt recovery plan.
However, the withdrawal did not bring an end to the unrest.
Violent Protests Continue at CPUT
Violent protests continued at CPUT's Bellville campus throughout the following week.
The unrest included an incident at the Wellington campus where a security vehicle was set alight.
The protests were organised by the central Student Representative Council (SRC) and involved members of several student organisations.
These included the Pan-Africanist Student Movement of Azania, the Economic Freedom Fighters Students' Command and the uMkhonto weSizwe Student Movement.
CPUT said the decision to close its campuses and evacuate residences was necessary to protect students, staff and other members of the university community amid the escalating violence.
