CPUT Sends All Student Home After Widespread Protests Turn Violent, Student Leaders Refuse to Vacate Campuses

• The Cape Peninsula University of Technology student protests have resulted in CPUT management shutting down all its campus
• This comes after three buildings and two vehicles were torched when the protests turned violent
• The students are protesting a new NSFAS funding requirement which would affect housing, living and transportation assistance for some students

CAPE TOWN - The student protests at The Cape Peninsula University of Technology have come to a head with the institution's management deciding to shut down all campuses.

CPUT management shut down campuses after students torch buildings and vehicles

CPUT has ordered all its residents to vacate all residences by 4pm on Friday, 12 May. However, student leaders have rallied against the order, claiming no one will be forced out until management meets with them.

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The CPUT campuses have been shut down indefinitely after the student protests turned violent over the week. According to eNCA, three buildings and two vehicles were torched during the protests.

The institution's spokesperson Lauren Kansley said that violence erupted at the Belville campus after CPUT management failed to meet with student leaders on Wednesday, 10 May.

SRC refutes being responsible for torching CPUT buildings and other vehicles

The student leaders have refuted that they were responsible for torching vehicles and buildings and have condemned the institution for shutting down all its campuses.

The students are reportedly protesting a new NSFAS funding requirement that students enrolled in fewer than 60-course credits would no longer be eligible for housing, living and transportation assistance, Cape Town etc reported.

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South Africans slam CPUT students for burning buildings and campuses

Below are comments:

@IanPric54853387 claimed:

"It's not the students themselves it's the so-called SRC."

@GerryBezui95708 added:

"The future of SA..learn from a young age to burn & destroy."

@kwesioduro6891 asked:

"Why are they setting buildings alight? Aren’t students supposed to use their brains? Common sense indeed is not common."

@JacobSesing2 said:

"Why? There are other ways to show dissatisfaction."

@sechabachippa questioned:

"This type of thinking is very dangerous. How is the university to tell NASFAS how it operates?"

@John77V77 suggested:

"Shut down and only do online learning. Civilized people can't negotiate with those self-entitled things."

UWC student caught on camera firing at police after snatching a cops’ gun amid protest for better security

In a similar story, Briefly News reported that the University of Western Cape (UWC) has turned chaotic after protests reportedly turned violent this week.

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From social media posts, students alleged that they were protesting peacefully until the university's management called the police, and things quickly went south.

Speaking to Briefly News, Sasco Wanga Sigila branch coordinator Thembela Sifile explained that protests began on Monday, 8 May. Sifile stated they had been protesting for better security on and off-campus residences, including private accommodation.

Source: Briefly News