18 August 2026
On Tuesday, hundreds of CPUT students marched to Parliament calling for MPs to intervene in the university’s finances, accommodation and management. Photos: Ashraf Hendricks
Thousands of Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) students have been given until Wednesday to vacate residences at campuses across the metro.
This follows days of protests by students who want CPUT to withdraw its draft 2027 financial recovery plan. The plan proposed that students pay up to R7,000 to register for the new academic year.
Buildings were torched and property damaged during the protests.
Video: Ashraf Hendricks
CPUT has the highest student debt of all universities, totalling R4.2-billion in May 2026. It has withheld about 16,200 certificates from students in arrears.
On Tuesday, hundreds of students marched through the city centre and submitted a 20-page memorandum to Walter Tebogo Letsie, chairperson of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Higher Education. They called for urgent intervention in the university’s finances, accommodation and management.
Public order police stand guard at the gates of Parliament on Tuesday.
Speaking to students outside CPUT’s District Six campus, student leader Liyabulela Gela said students want the committee to summon officials responsible for decision-making at CPUT to account for the crisis. They also want an independent investigation into CPUT’s conduct.
In a statement earlier, CPUT said all academic activities would end immediately because of violence during the protests.
Students at CPUT residences were given 24 hours to leave.
Walter Tebogo Letsie, chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education (left) with CPUT Central Student Representative Council president Liyabulela Gela
Amamkele Mtshulwana, a third-year journalism student who lives in one of CPUT’s residences, said: “We are not going anywhere. CPUT chasing us out it means we will not be able to finish and graduate next year.”
She is from the Eastern Cape and does not have relatives to go to in Cape Town.
Letsie said the order to leave the residences was “harsh” and “stupid”. He said management should engage with the Student Representative Council before making decisions affecting students.
Students had a right to understand the university’s finances, he said, and management should account for its decisions.
After the march, Gela called on students living in residences to organise meetings on Tuesday night. Student leaders insist that no student will vacate residences on Wednesday.
Windows at the Cape Town campus were damaged by protesters.
