The Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) has been left with "no other choice" but to order that students evacuate the residences by no later than 16:00 on Friday, 12 May 2023.
This comes as protest action has been amplifying to the extreme, resulting in buildings and cars that have been set alight, which as led to the heightening of security forces appearing across campuses.
This current protest action has violently escalated to the point where campuses are shut down and classes are on pause. In a newsflash message to staff and students released on Thursday, 11 May 2023, CPUT made the following statement:
Continued violent disruptions, torching of buildings and wanton attacks on institutional infrastructure, have forced university management to close all campuses indefinitely.
Unruly students, 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. The safety of staff and students is our primary concerns at this stage.
However, student leaders say that no one will leave until the university's management meets with them; but several students have in fact left, saying they would rather be at home if more violence breaks out.
Initially, our management was supposed to have met with student leadership yesterday afternoon, [but] unfortunately, that meeting didn't happen. Later on that evening, what we saw was the campuses [with] really violent scenes, [especially] coming off the Bellville campus.
That included our information centre being torched and a number of other buildings, as well as vehicles; as a result of that our management had a meeting extending into the early hours of this morning and a decision was taken to close all CPUT campuses.
But, CPUT student leaders say they are not behind the burning of cars and buildings.
Minister of Higher Education, Blade Nzimande, has also joined the conversation, strongly condemning the instances of violence and arson that have been unfolding at both CPUT and the University of the Western Cape (UWC).
In a statement released today, 12 May 2023, Nzimande said:
Government cannot and will not tolerate the threat to lives and destruction of property and requests the university management to tighten up security in all the university campus in order to ensure the safety of all students and workers
Nzimande added that arson, vandalism and intimidation will never justify or cannot be associated with any legitimate forms of protest, and should be condemned "unequivocally by all, including by student leaders themselves."
Like CPUT, UWC's university proceedings have been halted and classes moved online.
While the unrest at CPUT has stemmed from students' dissatisfaction with a change to one of NSFAS' eligibility criteria, students at UWC are protesting following the death of third-year BCom student Kamva Dasi earlier this month.
He was shot and killed in an armed robbery in Belhar. Protesters said Dasi's death highlighted ongoing safety concerns for students.
The National Student Financial Aid Scheme's (NSFAS) latest change to its eligibility requirements states that students studying for less than 60 course credits will no longer eligible for accommodation, living expenses and transport allowances.
This change in rules leaves quite a number of students stranded, as they were reliant on NSFAS to continue and eventually complete their studies, as they cannot afford the various costs associated with tertiary education out of their own pockets.
NSFAS previously made adjustments to its eligibility rules earlier this year before the 2023 academic year began, and in 2021 the bursary scheme made the decision to stop funding postgraduate qualifications, and already excludes missing middle students.
CPUT's Student Representative Council (SRC) has also commented on the matter, stating that students are frustrated with a number of issues, namely NSFAS, ongoing lack of accommodation, not enough space on campus shuttles, lack of assistance at university clinics and students being unable to graduate on time due to fees still owed.
Management has obtained a court order against protesting students, but the violence has only escalated, with the SRC firmly reiterating that no university operations will take place until all the students' demands have been met.
Students have expressed concerns about how the ongoing protest action will affect their exams and the graduation ceremonies of some.
In order to resolved genuine students concerns, the Department of Higher Education and Training together with the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) have been consulting both the universities stakeholders including the Student Representative Council to resolve the impasse.
CPUT was amongst the group of tertiary institutions that engaged in heated protests earlier this year, regarding financial blocks, accommodation and registration problems, which began at the University of Cape Town and quickly gained momentum across the country.
