CPUT students protest over accommodation
Exams cancelled after students enter hall
Classes and exams at Cape Peninsula University of Technology’s Cape Town campus were cancelled on Monday after students disrupted a hall where exams were to be held.
A retail management student who did not want to give his name told GroundUp that just before he was about to write an exam, students came into the hall and told him and the others there to leave. “They said they wanted to address students about the statements they released yesterday.”
SRC chairperson on the campus Ayakha Magxotwa said the disruption stemmed from problems with accommodation.
No-one has claimed responsibility for a fire which was started last night in the hall where exams were to be held. Magxotwa said that last night student leaders had heard during a meeting that a fire had been started in the hall.
He said about 89 students still needed accommodation.
He said the Pan Africanist Student Movement of Azania (PASMA) had decided on a shutdown. “We are seeking the attention of management on this issue.”
By mid-morning on Monday, a group of students were singing in the foyer of the sixth floor of the Admin building, calling for the Vice-Chancellor to come and see them.
One of the students, Luxdo Ngobela, said some students were sleeping in classrooms and the e-learning building. “We want all CPUT students to have residences - whether you’re from Khayelitsha, Worcester or Graaff-Reinet.”
CPUT spokesperson Lauren Kansley said that the university has attended “countless engagements” with student leaders to discuss concerns over housing.
“Student leaders initially claimed that ten students were sleeping in our Service Learning Unit and management immediately engaged with the residence department to assist where possible,” she said. She said CPUT had 9,124 beds which housed about 26% of the institution’s students. Kansley added that an additional 541 beds have been occupied by students since March.
Kansley said CPUT’s Residence Department has advertised for contractors to submit proposals to provide student accommodation.
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