Cape Town - A group of students spent a night at a student centre yesterday at District Six Campus, Cape Town. They claim they were told to wait there and would be assisted with accommodation.
However, CPUT spokesperson Lauren Kansley said the students who occupied the student centre did not meet the requirements for admission into residence.
She added some of those students had already graduated, some had been out of the system for a year and now wanted to continue studies, and some did not meet the academic requirements.
“CPUT has an obligation to prioritise first-year students who are the most vulnerable and placing these students is our focus now. CPUT is able to accommodate 43% of its student population in residence, a figure higher than any other university in the country, so we have made accommodation a major focus over the past years,” said Kansley.
She also said the accredited housing system was being activated at the moment where external providers who have been vetted by the institution will be available to offer accommodation.
Returning students told the Weekend Argus they had received an email stating residences were full.
Nomthandazo Isaacs, a registered student at the institution, is one of the students who had to sleep at the student centre because she had nowhere else to go.
She said that on Wednesday, the Student Representative Council (SRC) handed out papers to fill in their details. They were promised assistance and were given assurance they would be accommodated by the end of the day.
“Hours later, they called out names to confirm the number of students, still promising to attend to us. Shortly before load shedding midnight, they divided students to specific numbers to accommodate them. At this point we are left in the dark, no one communicated anything with us,” she added.
Collen Mataboge, a first-year student from Hammanskraal, has been accepted and is already registered at the institution but does not have accommodation. Mataboge is thinking of de-registering.
“The problem is that I forgot to apply for res and it will be risky for me to leave home to go and look for private accommodation in Cape Town because I don’t know anyone that side,” Mataboge said.
Busiswa Mazola is another student still looking for accommodation. She said she had been going to campus every day yet still did not have a place.
"I come to campus every day hoping to get accommodation, but still nothing. They have taken our names and promised us that our pending statuses will change, but nothing happens," said Mazola.