Calm at CPUT Belville campus after more than a week of protests

The Bellville campus of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) has fallen quiet.

This following more than a week of disruptive protests that left at least three people injured .

The university took the decision to suspend all learning and teaching activity on Tuesday and ordered students to vacate residences .

A building was torched on Monday night and damages are estimated to be in excess of R1 million.

The protests erupted as a result of, among others, residence conditions, financial challenges, academic documents and the proposed 2027 Financial Recovery Plan.

A number of students have now gone home, while others are left behind on the premises.

However, the aftermath of the clashes is still visible, with remnants of rubber bullets found on the ground.

The calm at the campus stands in stark contrast to the scenes witnessed in recent days.

Meanwhile, the management says its priority is to ensure the safety of those who have opted to remain.

“We are pleased that day one of the CPUT campus evacuations has been successful.

Many students have taken the opportunity to go home and for us the measure of success is simple, that we de-escalate violence, avoid a loss of life and bring calm to our campuses.

We believe we have achieved that.

We bulked up overnight patrols to ensure the safety of remaining students and also to allow students who want to leave to do so without being intimidated by others,” says CPUT spokesperson, Lauren Kansley.

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