Task team to focus on student accommodation issues

THE Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) will establish a task team focusing on residence issues as student housing and residence placements remain a pressing concern.

This is according to the institution’s vice-chancellor, Dr Chris Nhlapo, following a meeting between management and protesting students who demanded that a plan be made for hundreds of students seeking accommodation.

The meeting was held after students, led by the EFF Students’ Command (EFFSC), forced their non-protesting peers at the District Six campus out of classes on Tuesday.

They claimed only 30 students had been placed out of the 350 who arrived over the weekend.

They also called on the institution to fix issues relating to registration fees and financial exclusion.

Nhlapo said: “Meetings of this nature will become a regular feature and I appeal to students to use their elected student representatives to escalate challenges to university management in this way.

“Well-managed student residences are a critical component of student life and it is clear that a more comprehensive approach is required to tackle this issue. I will be establishing a task team focused on residence issues. This team will look at the residence experience holistically and make recommendations for improvement,” he said.

EFFSC acting provincial secretary Songeze Phahlindlela said among the things proposed and agreed upon was that all students with historical debt would be registered.

“All students who were accepted to study at CPUT but were not offered accommodation will be accommodated. Management committed to lease buildings and finalise the process within 48 working hours,” he said.