CPUT students protest at Parliament amid campus closures over tuition fees

On Tuesday, students from Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) made their way to Parliament to voice their grievances against the institution's management. The university had been engulfed in chaos due to a dispute over tuition fees, which had resulted in a week-long protest campaign causing damage to infrastructure at Cape Town’s District Six campus, Wellington, and Bellville.

In response to escalating tensions, CPUT announced it would shut down all campuses and student residences following an arson attack at its Bellville campus. Fire officials responded to the burning of the Old Education building on Monday evening, though no one was injured. However, university management expressed concern over the increasing violence, warning that someone could be seriously hurt or worse.

The university cited ongoing disruptions, including the burning of buildings and attacks on infrastructure, as the reason for the shutdown. Disgruntled students had handed over a memorandum of demands to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, protesting proposed financial clearance rules for 2027. Student leaders claimed that these rules would render higher education inaccessible for thousands of financially struggling students.