Cape Town - The student leadership and Council remain at loggerheads over fee blocks, with at least 7 000 students said to be affected.
The university confirmed it had just under 30 000 students registered for 2023. In person teaching resumed at UCT on February 20, after the institution secured an interim interdict in the Western Cape High Court following mass student protests which resulted in a shut down of the campus.
The students’ issues include wanting solutions to fee blocks and accommodation issues.
Despite a five-hour meeting on Monday, the SRC said their proposal to lift fee blocks was not accepted.
"Over 7 000 student can't register.
“The SRC was shocked by this outcome as we had presented amicable and feasible solutions to all the concerns raised by management.
It is enraging that the University Management and Council have no care for poor and black students who are unable to afford the exorbitant costs that are our tuition and accommodation fees.
It is further disheartening that the university has declared boldly that only those with deep pockets belong in this institution and deserve to exercise their right to education," the SRC said.
UCT spokesperson Elijah Moholola said: "Without converting debt into cash, this will impact on the university’s financial sustainability.
“It remains a critical part of the executive’s fiduciary responsibility to ensure that fee debt does not grow year-on-year and that the university does not ‘lend’ recklessly as a result of fee payments not being made.
“UCT has, for example, a student whose outstanding debt is just over R500 000 and it would not be in the interests of neither the student nor the university if they were to accumulate more debt in 2023 without a payment plan for the existing fee debt.
“Tuition fees are the biggest source of income for UCT, followed by government subsidies (which have been declining in recent years), and without converting debt into cash, this will impact on the university’s financial sustainability.”
“While keeping fee blocks in place for 2023, the UCT executive has worked hard to maximise eligibility for registration of academically eligible students."
Meanwhile, students at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) said accommodation remained an issue, with students still sleeping in the halls and corridors on campus due to a shortage of living spaces.
Pan Africanist Student Movement of Azania (Pasma) branch chairperson, Innocent Lekhoro, said talks with the university management continued.
“(Students) are piling up. Not only first years, the majority applied got accepted, (but) all residencies are still pending.
“Others did not meet minimum requirements and appealed, they got approved, but now the university is saying they don't have space.
“As Pasma, we have tried to talk with management to look at buildings available used by university when they face crisis.
“(We are) still trying to beg the university and talk to place students,” Lekhoro said.
CPUT spokesperson, Lauren Kansley, said they could presently accommodate 43% of their students in campus housing (18 500+ beds on offer) of its 34 000 students.
"This is the highest campus housing offering of any university in SA.
“The institution also rolled out a student housing system to assist those who were not successfully placed.
“This helps those who may have NSFAS funding but no accommodation.
“With funding in place, CPUT will be able to assist all applicable students.
“The ones who are not placed, either have no acceptance to study at CPUT, have no funding for housing, live within the 60km campus radius, are older returning students who may have disciplinary or academic restrictions. As such we are not able to assist them," Kansley said.
Cape Times