Protest over accommodation at UWC

The gates to the University of the Western Cape (UWC) were blocked causing a traffic snarl-up, as students protested over private accommodation on Thursday.

South Point, privately-owned student accommodation in Belhar, is the focus of the protest after it entered into negotiations with the Cape Peninsula University of Technology which could reduce the number of beds available to UWC students in 2020.

Affected UWC students were informed by South Point that “students who are adversely affected [should] seek alternative accommodation timeously through their respective institutions”.

UWC said on Thursday that it was negotiating with South Point in an effort to maintain the accommodation capacity offered to its students. 

“The university wants to avoid a situation where South Point may play it off against the other institution to increase pricing. We don't want a situation where the highest bidder makes private accommodation unaffordable for students,” said spokesperson Gasant Abarder. 

“We have been in discussions with South Point and, it is important to state, that we have presented our own agreement for review and discussion. We have done this because we would like to maintain the number of bed spaces we have at the moment.”

UWC was also engaged in talks with other service providers to ensure there were enough beds for students in the new year. 

“It is also important to state that the university has, since April 2019, been engaging bulk private accommodation providers in preparation for the 2020 academic year,” he said. 

“These discussions are still ongoing and the plan is to ensure that there are additional bed spaces that are available to funded students, as landlords insist that they only accept fully-funded students.

“We will continue to engage the student leadership and will look into ways in which this misunderstanding can be addressed, as we are concerned about the impact of the disruptions on the normal running of the university and as we approach final-year exams.” 

He said there was an existing agreement in place and the university did not want students to be exploited.

Many students were unable to get to classes on time due to the traffic jam outside the gates.

Abarder said any tests affected by the protests would be rescheduled.