Cape Town - As the University of the Western Cape (UWC) and Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande launched two enormous infrastructure projects, a number of students used the opportunity to highlight grievances related to student accommodation and safety.
Nzimande opened the 6 x 4-floor multi-level buildings with a bed capacity of 2 720 Unibell student residence as well as the new Faculty of Education building, in Belhar, on Monday.
Over 150 students gathered at the gates of one of the Unibell entrances where Nzimande was expected to arrive, and had been protesting since the night prior. University security used pellet guns and tear gas to disperse students.
UWC EFF Student Command chairperson Siyabonga Sgudla said student residences were dilapidated and decaying.
“These residents don't have water, don't have warm water, these residents don't have wifi for students to study. During loadshedding, the generators can't even keep the lights in the rooms of students on. The residents on campus are falling apart literally. They have never been maintained,” Sgudla said.
UWC SRC Community Outreach Officer Siphenkosi Gubudela said the protest also aimed to highlight safety concerns due to the high number of robberies targeting students.
“We’ve been asking the university to provide these students with shuttles, nothing has been done.”
UWC vice-chancellor and rector professor Tyrone Pretorius said: “This new student residence has unlocked many opportunities for us. It has given 2720 beds, doubling our accommodation spaces to 6 833 in the 10 UWC-owned student residences.
“It has also allowed us to change our residences admission policy by removing the 60 kilometre radius restriction. Even though our new residences will not completely alleviate the demand for accommodation, it has given us the space to consider students whose home environments are not conducive to study.”
Pretorius said the students had presented a report on all residences and meetings were subsequently held to see what remedial actions could be taken.
“Some of our residences date back to the 1960s and it is inevitable that there would be logistical and structural issues, however the next phase for us is refurbishing all of our residences but again, that is a process that takes time. All we are doing at the moment is putting plasters on it, the real solution would be with the department's help of course, would be to refurbish all of those residences in a phased and planned manner.”
Deputy vice-chancellor: Student Development and Support Professor Matete Madiba said on an annual basis, around 20 000 applications for student accommodation are received in any one year.
Nzimande said to date, the department has allocated R1.545 billion towards infrastructure development at UWC.
The Unibell residence project cost R670 million and was made possible through public-private collaboration. Nzimande said NSFAS too was a major funder with R11 billion spent last year on student accommodation alone.
Unibell residences consist of communal lounge and kitchen areas, laundromat, gym, water storage facility, inverters, braai facility, and recreational room.
Pretorius and Nzimande condemned the use of excessive force during the protest.