CAMPUS CHAOS: ‘Throwing students to the wolves’ Parliament slams CPUT over evictions after protests

CPUT crisis deepens — students cry foul over eviction of residents who have no transportation funds. Parliament says the university is putting students’ lives at risk after CPUT ordered students to evacuate its accommodations in the wake of protests that led to more than R1m in damages.

Chairperson of the parliamentary committee on higher education Tebogo Letsie has criticised the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), which is at loggerheads with students after a shocking email demanded that students evacuate all university residences and return to their homes.

The student protest erupted after the university attempted to introduce a financial recovery plan, forcing postgraduate and unfunded students to pay an upfront R7,000 fee covering registration and accommodation.

CPUT subsequently withdrew the plan pending further explanation, clarification and thorough consultation with appropriate stakeholders, including student representatives. Students, however, have rejected this move, demanding an unconditional withdrawal of the plan.

Letsie told Daily Maverick that the protest could have been avoided if CPUT and students had sat down to discuss the financial plan.

“ Firstly, I think the process of our institutions, without consulting broadly, is a problem.” He said there would not have been a strike and buildings would not have been destroyed. “The decisions by our institution are very expensive. It cost us a lot. They may have withdrawn it now, but at what cost? said Letsie.

He condemned the burning of infrastructure, saying that if students were involved in such activities, they should be treated as criminals.

Letsie said it was a risk to send away at short notice students who came from provinces across the country. “ ... if you remove them from res now, you are literally throwing them to the wolves... It’s not something we agree with, and we are going to write a letter and send it to the institution,” said Letsie.

A CPUT management newsflash sent the following email to students on Tuesday morning, 18 August 2026: “All academic activities will cease with immediate effect while staff continue to work from home. Essential workers and selected support staff will be needed for operations on campus and will be communicated to through their line managers. All residences must be vacated within 24 hours (by Wednesday, 19 August at 4pm). All students are to leave by that date as residences will be closed.”

In less than three weeks, the protests have resulted in the burning of the Old Education building at the Bellville campus, malicious attacks on institutional infrastructure, and have forced university management to close all campuses until further notice. Speaking to Daily Maverick, CPUT spokesperson Lauren Kansley said the damages had hit over R1.5 million, and sending students home was the only play the university could make.

“I think that the evacuation of residents is one thing; protection of lives. We did it to completely de-escalate the violence immediately, said Kansley. “We are not going to be agitating students at four o’clock and coming in with the red ants. That’s not what’s going to happen.