Security forced to intervene after CPUT classes in city, Bellville disrupted

CLASSES at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology’s Cape Town and Bellville campuses were disrupted yesterday, allegedly by a group who are unhappy about disciplinary steps taken against two students.

According to the university’s Facebook page, security had to intervene after classes in the electrical engineering building on the Bellville campus were disrupted yesterday afternoon. Earlier in the day a group of students disrupted lectures at the Cape Town campus, but classes resumed after they dispersed.

Aviwe Gwayi of the SA Students Congress (Sasco) said two students were “in the process of being suspended”.

“Their (disciplinary) tribunal was to take place at CPUT Bellville campus today (yesterday), so now they are trying to use students to go to them, where the tribunal was going to take place. They are trying to incite students to fight for them for whatever political games they have.”

He said the two students had also tried to incite students to go from the Cape Town to the Bellville campus last year, resulting in 78 students being arrested.

“We feel like these two are taking students towards a trap because at the Bellville campus we know very well that there are police officers.” He said one of the two was not a student. A marketing student, Amanda Booi, 19, said she had come all the way from Kraaifontein to write her exams, but felt like she had wasted her money for coming to school after they were chased out of classes by other students.

“The strike has affected me so badly because usually when a strike will take place we are told in advance by our leaders for our safety, now we don’t feel safe anymore.”

A first-year student Avuyile Maninzi, 20, said he felt like his rights were being violated after he was chased from his class while sitting for exams.

Norman Jacobs, director of the university’s marketing and communication department, said the protesting group had not communicated anything to the university, “so there was nothing we could respond to”.