By Thapelo Molefe
Higher Education Minister Buti Manamela has directed a departmental team to intervene at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) after an arson attack and student grievances led to a total shutdown of the university.
The University Education Branch team will work with CPUT management, Council and student leaders to facilitate urgent discussions and find a way to restore learning, teaching and essential university services.
The shutdown follows days of student protests and violent disruptions, culminating in an arson attack on the university’s Old Education Building at its Bellville campus on Monday evening.
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Students have raised concerns about the now-withdrawn Draft Financial Recovery Plan for 2027, historical student debt, registration requirements, residence fees and conditions, as well as issues relating to academic records.
The departmental team has been tasked with establishing the facts behind the grievances, identifying matters that can be resolved immediately and helping the parties agree on a clear, time-bound process to deal with outstanding issues.
The team will also support efforts to restore normal university operations.
“The immediate priority is to bring the parties around the table, establish the facts and find a way forward that allows the academic programme to resume,” Manamela said in a statement on Wednesday.
He said students had the right to raise concerns about access to higher education, affordability and living and learning conditions, but stressed that these issues should be addressed through dialogue.
“Those concerns must be heard and addressed through constructive engagement. Equally, no student or staff member should have to fear for their safety or be prevented from exercising their right to study or work,” he said.
Manamela condemned the destruction of university property, violence, intimidation and any conduct that places students, staff and other members of the university community at risk.
He said the disruption could not be allowed to continue indefinitely.
“We cannot allow an impasse to become a permanent disruption to the academic year. We need responsible leadership from all sides and a commitment to resolving these matters through dialogue rather than confrontation,” Manamela said.
The minister also pointed to the withdrawal of CPUT’s draft financial plan as an opportunity for the university and student leadership to reset their engagement.
“The withdrawal of the draft financial plan creates an opportunity to reset the relationship between the parties. We now need to use that opportunity responsibly,” he said.
Manamela said the parties needed to determine what could be resolved immediately, what required further consideration and how the remaining issues would be addressed.
He also urged university and student leaders to avoid statements and actions that could increase tensions.
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“Leadership at the University and among students carries a responsibility to find solutions. Public statements and actions that inflame tensions will not assist us in resolving the issues before us,” he said.
Manamela has called on CPUT management, Council and student leaders to cooperate with the departmental team and participate in the engagement process in good faith.
He will remain engaged with the university and other stakeholders as the process continues, with the immediate objective of establishing a roadmap for the restoration of learning, teaching and normal university operations.
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