Hundreds of students from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) were made to wait hours in the cold for transport following the immediate evacuation of residences.
CPUT shut down all academic activities and evacuated residences on Friday following the ongoing protest at campuses throughout last week.
Students clashed with law enforcement during protests over a new NSFAS funding condition, the R45K NSFAS accommodation cap, and a lack of shuttle services.
This resulted in two private vehicles and buildings being set alight at three campuses.
However, Friday’s evacuation saw students waiting for several hours to be transported to their respective provinces.
Pictures posted on social media showed students camping at a bus depot in Tygervalley.
Zonke Ncapayi, chairperson of the SRC, said some of the students slept outside the depot.
“Students could not get transport,” Ncapayi added.
The SRC representative has claimed that there has been no sign as to the way forward.
“I don’t know what will happen, they just told students to go home. I feel like they took a very drastic decision as there is no planning for when academics are going to start.”
According to CPUT spokesperson Lauren Kansley, all students arrived safely in their respective provinces.
“Fifty-two buses [were set to] depart Cape Town with students destined for their home provinces. All are successfully in transit or arrived safely in the major provinces,” she said on Sunday.
Meetings between relevant parties are being scheduled to discuss the way forward, Kansley added.
“The academic project at CPUT has always been a hybrid, multi-media offering. We were online exclusively last week and next week is a study week.”
But, Ncapayi said there was no need to send the students home: “That memorandum of demands was very simple.”