Classes at UWC, CPUT suspended as shutdown continues

[schumi]

Cape Town – Classes were suspended at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) and the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) on Wednesday morning, as protesting students continued their shutdown of various campuses.

In the early hours of the morning, human faeces were dumped in the security office of CPUT’s Bellville campus.

"The security office is required to be accessible to all students who may need assistance, so it is unfortunate that protesters targeted a space that innocent students may need to access," it said in a statement.

A decision was made to keep classes suspended on Wednesday, after ongoing security assessments.

Academic activities were initially meant to continue at UWC, but students who arrived for class were unable to drive onto the campus.

Intimidation

All entrances were blocked off, including the entrance to the library, university spokesperson Luthando Thyalibongo confirmed.

"We are asking our students to go home today until we update them."

Some lecturers and students were intimidated, he added.

Long lines of parked cars were seen outside the university.

Protesting students, meanwhile, formed a circle in Modderdam Road and held a "political class".

UWC’s deputy vice-chancellor of student development and support, Professor Pamela Dube, apparently met with those who were blocking the entrance gates.

"The university is finding ways to engage with protesting students," said Thyalibongo.

A meeting with university management was expected to take place at some stage.

UWC students submitted a detailed memorandum of demands last week.

Top of the list was a demand for free, quality, black-centred education, and no talks of feasibility or increments.

They wanted all student debts to be cleared, and the scrapping of registration and application fees.

Other concerns related to safety and the affordability of accommodation, study material and clinics.

Students demanded free sanitary pads and 10 gigabytes of free data per month for those on campus.

News24
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/classes-at-uwc-cput-suspended-as-shutdown-continues-20161005

 

[Corelli]

I hope the foreigners sue

22 Percent of students at UCT for example are foreigners that pay an extra fee to study locally. If they cant finish their degree i hope they launch class actions against the universities for money wasted. They pay for their accomodation and tuition and now a whole year is wasted. How much would another year cost them?

What if the 22 percent supposed to come now cancels coming and choose another university abroad. The loss of income to universities will be Billions, their daily spend will turn into thousands of jobs lost in South Africa.

The students should stop going after the universities but should picket infront of parliament, because the problem lies there. The universities dont have the assets and finance to offer it free. If they fold, thousands of jobs will be lost and South Africa will loose billions more.

 

[FoXtroT]

Haha looks like the Swedes are getting the taste of real Africa!

Swedish envoy disappointed after poo flung at CPUT lecture
2016-10-05 16:12

Jenna Etheridge, News24


Cape Town - A joint Swedish-South African chemistry lecture was disrupted at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) in Bellville on Wednesday morning when students started flinging human waste about.

Newly-inaugurated Swedish ambassador to the country, Cecilia Julin, told News24 that some students had entered the building soon after the lecture started at 10:00.

"The vice chancellor had just finished his speech of welcoming and they threw the containers of human faeces on the floor of the auditorium."

Julin said it became impossible to continue and that they had "quietly evacuated".

She said she was disappointed, but saw the incident within the context of what was happening at universities around the country.

CPUT spokesperson Lauren Kansley said protesting students had forced their way into the auditorium and "splashed faeces on a person".

Science fair exhibitions damaged

Apart from international guests, school children from a leadership college were also in the venue to present at a science fair.

"That is the saddest part," said Julin.

She said faeces were thrown at the entrance where the fair was and that some exhibitions were destroyed.

"I felt very sorry for the high school children. Parts of their presentations were torn down."

Kansley said the guests were evacuated to the main administration building and organised "safe passage" by the police.

Staff left soon after. A decision still had to be made on whether they would return.

Second lecture cancelled

The Nobel Inspired Lecture Series was hosted by the National Research Foundation in conjunction with the Swedish Embassy in Pretoria.

A second lecture in the series, focused on peace, had been scheduled at the University of Fort Hare on Friday.

Julin said a decision was made on Tuesday to cancel that lecture.

"We are disappointed. We will look at the possibilities of doing this lecture digitally in maybe a week or two."

A number of similar incidents were reported at CPUT on Wednesday.

Kansley said faeces were flung onto some lecturers' cars.

Classes suspended

In the early hours of the morning, faeces were dumped in the security office of CPUT's Bellville campus.

Classes were suspended at CPUT, the University of the Western Cape and the University of Cape Town.

UCT believed the situation on campus was reaching a point where there was a risk of "serious conflict and escalating violence".

The university said it felt it would not be able to contain this without a very large increase in security and police intervention.

"This would only serve to make matters worse and may lead to injury and even lives being at risk."

All UCT campuses were closed for the rest of the week.