UCT and CPUT 'open as usual' as students demand shutdown

The University of Cape Town (UCT) said classes and tests would go ahead as normal‚ in spite of calls by some students for the campus to shut down on Wednesday.

Students threatened to close the campus and planned to march to parliament on Wednesday‚ alongside Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) students‚ to demand that President Jacob Zuma release a report on tuition fees.

Zuma received the final report of the Heher Commission on the feasibility of free higher education at the end of August but it is yet to be released.

UCT spokesperson Elijah Moholola said academic activity scheduled for Wednesday would continue.

“The social media claims that the UCT executive has agreed to shut down the university today is inaccurate‚” said Moholola.

But a series of tweets posted by the SRC painted a different picture. 

“The executive has noted the public call by student protesters for a march to Parliament today and that UCT should be shut down in order to allow everybody to support the march‚ and have indicated that we will not shut down the university‚” Moholola said.

UCT reiterated that students could not afford to lose academic time.

“The UCT executive is supportive of the call for President Jacob Zuma to release the Fees Commission report and are working with student leaders in our efforts to meet their demands‚ where this is possible. But we urge that UCT classes and operations continue undisturbed‚” he said.

CPUT spokesperson Lauren Kansely said the university was operating as normal.