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- CPUT closed all campuses following two days of violent student protests.
- Students had to vacate residences and were provided free transport to return home.
- News24 spoke to students who have expressed concern over the suspension of academic activity.
The Cape University of Technology (CPUT) is confident that it can smoothly migrate to online learning after it suspended academic activities following violent student protests.
CPUT spokesperson Lauren Kansley said that the university was waiting for instructions on whether academic activities or assessments would resume online.
"CPUT has a hybrid, multimedia approach to rolling out our academic project," she said, explaining that this meant the university could easily migrate online if necessary.
Last week, the university suspended academic activities and shut its campuses after two days of violent student protests that left buildings and infrastructure torched and cars set alight.
READ | Protest action dies down at Cape Town universities as assessments get under way
The protests followed an announcement from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) that students with 60 studying credits and less – who were approved for funding at the beginning of the academic year – were no longer eligible for accommodation, or living and transport allowances.
By Friday, students had to evacuate their university residences.
The university provided 52 buses to transport students to the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Free State and North West.
Despite the free transport home, some students opted to stay in Cape Town.
A student, who requested to remain anonymous, told News24 he could not return home because he has a part-time job while he studies.
He said:
He also said the internet was difficult to access in his rural hometown and he feared that he would struggle if the university resorted to online learning.
This was echoed by a third-year marketing student who said conditions in his rural hometown meant he would not have internet access, should CPUT go ahead with online learning.
He said that living in Cape Town was also more convenient compared to the Eastern Cape, where he would suffer longer periods of load shedding. He also said he would have to travel further to access shops and libraries.
"In the Eastern Cape, everything is far away. To go to town with a taxi can take one hour," he said.
Alizwa Mahlangeni, a fourth-year sports management student, said many students were uncertain about the way forward.
"We are afraid to leave the Western Cape because we are not sure when and how we will return," he added.
