Daily Maverick
Dailymaverick logo

Maverick News

Maverick News

Students sleep in streets as Cape Peninsula University of Technology faces housing crisis

Students sleep in streets as Cape Peninsula University of Technology faces housing crisis
Students have travelled from across the country to attend Cape Peninsula University of Technology, but many are left stranded with their luggage and without food and water, awaiting housing from the institution. (Photo: Kristin Engel)
Takudzwa Pongweni and Kristin Engel
By Takudzwa Pongweni and Kristin Engel
11 Feb 2025
Facebook
6
The ongoing housing crisis at CPUT has sparked protests and growing frustration as the university struggles to meet the demand for accommodation.

Frustrations reached a boiling point on Monday, 11 February, as Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) students clashed with police over the university’s ongoing accommodation crisis.

The situation escalated when armed Public Order Police moved in to disperse students who had been forced to sleep in hallways, the student centre and even outside campus. To restore order, officers deployed stun grenades and water cannon against the crowd gathered outside the campus grounds.

cput housing protest police Armed police officers face Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) students protesting outside the District Six campus. (Photo: Kristin Engel)



The protest comes as pressure mounts on CPUT to address the growing housing shortage, which has left many students, particularly those from outside the province, struggling for shelter. Earlier in the day, a group of students staged a march to Parliament, demanding immediate action to resolve the crisis.

Cold streets and tear gas


When Daily Maverick visited CPUT’s District Six campus on Monday evening, haggard students wrapped in blankets sat and slept outside the campus grounds in cold and windy conditions.

As students gathered outside the campus to protest, a line of armed police officers stood directly opposite them with a water cannon in place. The students had marched to Parliament earlier on Monday and, on their return, were reportedly chased by police who shot stun grenades and tear gas at the students.

“We were running for our lives… Others fell, others collapsed,” a student told Daily Maverick.

students housing Students have travelled from across the country to attend the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, but many are left stranded with their luggage and without food and water, awaiting housing from the institution. (Photo: Kristin Engel)



While comforting and assisting a first-year student who had just arrived on campus and was told there was no available accommodation, third-year student Yaneliseka Pakamani said she had faced the same situation when she began her studies at CPUT three years ago.

“We are all students and all deserve residence… I also suffered from this when I was a first-year student. We slept here [on the street] for three months… It’s heartbreaking, it also affects us mentally and academically… You don’t wash, you are hungry, you don’t sleep, and you are expected to attend classes? How?” Pakamani said.

First-year student Keabetswe Marbeng, who travelled from the North West, arrived at the District Six campus on Friday morning only to find there was no available accommodation. Marbeng was wrapped in a blanket as he huddled beside his luggage outside the campus. He was about to sleep in the cold when he spoke to Daily Maverick.

“It’s a mess,” he said.

Marbeng said they had not received any communication from the university about the accommodation crisis. They had instead received only emails with the agenda and orientation information for first-year students.

Marbeng said he had been updating his parents, though he didn’t want to worry them as his mother had high blood pressure. He had not told her how dire the situation was.

“I can see there are people here to support us [student leaders], like those guys who had been protesting… It’s kind of consoling,” Marbeng said.

When asked about sleeping on the street, Marbeng remarked, “It’s not like we have a choice… The distance from where I come from? I don’t think I have a choice.”

NSFAS cuts worsen CPUT’s housing crisis


The accommodation crisis isn’t new. It traces back to 2023 when then higher education minister Blade Nzimande reduced the National Student Financial Aid Scheme’s (NSFAS) accommodation cap from R60,000 to R45,000 annually.

New funding limits were introduced in 2024: private accommodation funding is capped at R50,000 in metropolitan areas and R41,000 elsewhere, while institution-managed housing funding is set at R66,500 in cities and R57,500 in other regions.

This year, hundreds of students have been forced to sleep in hallways and outside due to the housing shortage.

“As a CPUT student, I can say the housing situation is really bad. Every year, thousands struggle to find a place to stay and it’s getting worse,” said a student who asked not to be named. 

The student also expressed frustration with the lack of communication from the university, saying that students were left in limbo with no clear timeline for when pending statuses would change to reflect approval for residence placement. Additionally, students have had to endure difficult conditions, with some unable to shower or have access to food for weeks.

Highlighting the severe impact of the housing crisis on mental health, the student spoke about a friend she made at CPUT who had been sleeping on the streets. The friend, a recovering mental health patient, was eventually admitted to hospital as the stress had become overwhelming.

“⁠Students have been going to classes without even bathing for the past three weeks, some didn’t even have food and were hungry. Students are suffering, and if this crisis is not addressed, many will drop out because they can’t afford to stay in Cape Town without accommodation. It’s time for real change,” she said.

‘Situation dire’: Gift of the Givers aids students 


When Gift of the Givers teams made their assessment on Friday, Ali Sablay said that they had to respond as “the situation is dire”. Gift of the Givers has been providing meals and water to the students outside the CPUT District Six campus since Friday, delivering close to 1,000 meals each day and providing drinking water.

“For the whole of last week, we have been receiving calls from parents in KZN, Limpopo, Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga, quite concerned that their children had been sent to study at CPUT and are currently sleeping on the street because they have no residence, no access to food and water,” said Sablay.

On Monday, the students told Gift of the Givers that they were having a meeting with the university about their funding and placements, and thus they had not intervened, but remained on standby.

“A lot of parents, out of concern, called us, quite worried as to what the situation is on the ground and their children not eating… I believe there was a boy who had an epileptic fit … aggravated because he hadn’t eaten. He had his medication, but yeah…” Sablay said.

Aya Mcakumba, a second-year student, told Daily Maverick about the toll the housing crisis had taken. “I’m desperately struggling to survive being forced to sleep on cold, harsh gravel outside, with no respite from the biting weather,” he said.

For four weeks, Mcakumba has faced hardship: no water, hunger, and the constant stress of not knowing where he’ll sleep each night. 

“Headaches, anxiety and panic attacks have become my constant companions, suffocating my dreams and stealing my future,” he said.

Another student, who asked not to be named, said the overwhelming frustration was traumatic and chaotic. 

“Students are acting out of anger now because they are falling behind in terms of school work and the institution just neglects us like we don’t deserve to be there,” she said.

CPUT acknowledges housing struggles


CPUT spokesperson Lauren Kansley on Tuesday acknowledged the unrest, but said campuses were currently calm. She said the influx of students began in the middle of last week. She said that while some students may have claimed they had been on campus for weeks, this was inaccurate, as university classes only began in earnest this week.

Kansley acknowledged the high demand for student accommodation, emphasising that Cape Town did not have an abundance of available options to meet the need and that the university was striving to balance fiscal responsibility with providing adequate housing.

She stressed that it was essential to understand that university operations had been working under significant pressure. CPUT, with an enrolment target of 38,840 students, had only 16,200 beds on campus.

To address the rising need, CPUT added 1,000 new beds this year, an increase that was part of a broader, ongoing effort to expand student housing. Kansley also noted that some students remained ineligible for placement due to issues such as poor academic standing, extended study periods or disciplinary problems. 

The late influx of students had added to the problem, with many arriving in Cape Town hoping to secure a campus spot without prior arrangements. Kansley clarified that the university was processing these late arrivals daily, asking those on the waiting list to confirm their intentions and reallocate their placements if needed.

The ongoing process had led to frustration for some students, particularly those left in a “pending” status for weeks.

Kansley said that, “The reality is that we simply don’t have the capacity to house everyone who applies. It’s uncomfortable, but the truth is that we cannot meet the demand.” 

Despite the challenges, Kansley remained optimistic, noting that the university was working to improve its processes with 400 additional beds added at Cape Suites, offering high-quality amenities for students. 

“We understand the demographic of the students, CPUT is not an uncaring institution... We understand the frustrations, but we’re doing our best to assist. We are, at the very least, completely responsive and we’ve placed thousands in the past week,” she said.

The housing crisis at CPUT is part of a broader, escalating issue affecting students nationwide. Similar concerns have surfaced at other institutions, including the University of Johannesburg and Durban University of Technology, as students struggle to secure accommodation as the academic year begins.

Nape Senong, a mobiliser strategist at the advocacy campaign Youth Capital, explained that one of the key challenges with many institutions is their ongoing lack of adequate housing.

“These institutions have not had enough housing for quite some time and they are not responding to the problem effectively, as evidenced by the fact that the problem remains consistent and unresolved,” he said. DM

Categories:

Tags: