The start of the academic year hasn’t been easy, with strikes and placement issues delaying the education of many students. Recently, concern over Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) students who have been stranded without student accommodation has come to light.
Also read: Campus-wide shutdown called by UCT’s Student Representative Council
While students at the institution’s various campuses are busy with registration, about 70 students from other provinces and countries have been sleeping in the corridors of the student centre at the District Six campus.
It is the first-year students who have been most affected. “According to the Student Representative Council (SRC) president Nanga Codana, the CPUT housing department has not confirmed the total capacity of its accommodation”, reports News24. The student council claims that the students face this problem every year.
“The University has not had any communication with us to solve this current situation. CPUT’s private accommodation for students can only open once the housing department confirms that all their building space are filled. This is quite frustrating for many of the students,” said Codana.
Lauren Kansley, the university’s spokesperson, said: “that the university experiences the same issue each year.”
Currently, the university has not opened the private accommodation as it is waiting for the housing department to confirm that the campus residences have reached full capacity.
The students who applied and paid for the accommodation are being prioritised at the moment. Kansley added, “What is alarming is that parents allow their children to travel out of different provinces without the appropriate accommodation arranged. It puts these youngsters in a vulnerable situation.”
Also read:
Picture: CPUT / Facebook
