The University of Cape Town's vast art collection faces an uncertain future after calls this week by protesting students to eradicate colonial-era paintings.The paintings, sculptures, ceramics and textiles bought, donated and bequeathed to UCT since the 1920s include at least 1,100 works by 520 South African artists.Five paintings by Keresemose Richard Baholo, the first black student to receive a master's degree in fine art at UCT, were casualties of a violent protest on Tuesday over a shortage of accommodation on campus and allegations white students were given preferential treatment.Two of the artist's paintings were confirmed as having been burnt and three were missing.Associate Professor Fritha Langerman, director of UCT's Michaelis School of Fine Art, told the Sunday Times: "There is evidence of two of them on the pyre. Five were torn down. The others have vanished."Students who set paintings on fire described their actions as a "decolonisation project".An academic who, lacking authorisation to talk to the media, asked to remain anonymous , said there was talk of removing certain works of art that students may find offensive.UCT spokesman Pat Lucas said the "historical and cultural value" of the collection was "immeasurable".Four of the Baholo paintings from 1993 were part of a collection depicting anti-apartheid scenes at the university. They are titled Graduation Day, Extinguished Torch of Academic Freedom, Rekindling the Torch of Academic Freedom and Release our Leaders.Baholo was offered accommodation at UCT in the '90s when he experienced financial distress while studying at Michaelis. One of his paintings, Sixpence, selected to adorn the senate room, was "banished to storage" in 1992.The fate of the painting was discussed in a master's dissertation last year by Michaelis student Jessica Natasha Brown.At the time the painting was put in storage, the university was grappling to change the image of the Bremner administrative building and do away with art that amounted to "homage to white male-dominated history".Lucas said the future of the collection was under discussion. The removal of a statue of Cecil John Rhodes last year put the spotlight on "colonial symbols" on campus.Art was vandalised in at least three residences on Tuesday. Protesters also torched a student shuttle bus and a bakkie, and petrol-bombed the office of vice-chancellor Max Price. Eight students, including the son of Eskom CEO Brian Molefe, were arrested.Baholo, who has been informed about the destruction of his paintings, could not be reached for comment. Demonstrators held as varsity clashes spread  Dozens of protesters were arrested this week as student unrest spread.On Friday, the University of Pretoria closed its campuses when student members of the EFF clashed with AfriForum over the use of Afrikaans for teaching. About 20 students were arrested.At the University of the Witwatersrand, 14 people were arrested after a bus and a mattress were set alight in protest over fees.Wits spokeswoman Shirona Patel said those arrested had violated a court order. ''Some of these individuals, not all of whom are students, have been involved in a number of unlawful activities on our campuses in recent days," she said.Demonstrators affiliated to the #FeesWillFall movement at the University of the Western Cape staged a protest on Wednesday. There was minor damage to property.At North-West University, classes were suspended on Monday and Tuesday and registration of first-year students was disrupted by a protest for free education.- additional reporting by Monica Laganparsad and Jan Bornman..