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UCT faces campus shutdown as protesting students demand housing and fee block reforms

UCT faces campus shutdown as protesting students demand housing and fee block reforms
Takudzwa Pongweni
By Takudzwa Pongweni
18 Feb 2025
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The University of Cape Town’s 2025 academic year began with protests, halting campus activities as students rallied against fee blocks and limited access to housing. In response to the disruptions, UCT has moved some classes online, while students continue their fight for urgent solutions. Meanwhile, similar protests have spread across other universities like Wits, where the Students’ Representative Council has launched a hunger strike to address registration issues and financial exclusion.

Protests on the first day of the 2025 academic year at the University of Cape Town (UCT) led to a shutdown of campus activities, with students rallying against fee blocks and limited access to housing. In light of the disruptions, UCT has shifted to online classes as it works to address the issues raised by the protests.

On Monday night, 17 February 2025, Professor Mosa Moshabela, the vice-chancellor of UCT, issued a statement addressing the protests. The university executive acknowledged students’ right to peaceful protest, but noted that the demonstration had caused significant disruptions, including restricted access to upper campus and an impact on some lectures.

In response, UCT has decided to move some teaching to an online platform. Deans, in collaboration with heads of departments, will provide further updates. UCT Libraries has transitioned to virtual services and will resume in-person service once lectures are back on track.

The university also reminded students that disruptive, violent, and unlawful protest actions would be met with appropriate measures, in line with the student code of conduct and an interdict granted in May 2023. While university operations will continue, staff are advised to liaise with line managers regarding specific work arrangements.

“We remain committed to engaging with the Students’ Representative Council (SRC) to resolve outstanding matters and ensure the 2025 academic year proceeds smoothly,” Moshabela said. The university will continue monitoring the situation and provide updates as necessary.

SRC pushes for suspension of classes and policy changes at UCT


The SRC has submitted a memorandum outlining its demands for urgent action:

  • Suspension of Classes: All academic classes, both virtual and physical, should be paused until all deserving students are registered.

  • Expansion of On-Campus Housing: The SRC calls for expanded housing and a fairer allocation process.

  • Lifting of Fee Blocks: Fee blocks should be lifted for students in good academic standing who are eligible to continue their studies.

  • Policy to Prevent Financial Exclusion: The university must enact a policy to prevent financial exclusion, as recommended in the IRTC report.

  • Joint Proposal to Executive Council: The SRC seeks a joint proposal from management and the SRC to be presented to the University Council.

  • Special Council Meeting: An urgent meeting to discuss the lifting of fee blocks is requested.

  • Transit Accommodation: Students excluded from housing due to outstanding debt should be provided with transit accommodation until they resolve their financial issues.


On Monday morning, students shut down the medical campus before returning to UCT’s upper campus, where the situation remained relatively calm. UCT SRC president Thando Lukhele confirmed that the academic boycott would continue.

The following afternoon, students briefly moved to the admissions building, with Lelentle Thole, the deputy president of the SRC, explaining the protest’s two primary causes: the housing crisis at UCT and the ongoing fee block issue. 

“You cannot separate these two issues from one another because they emanate from the fee block,” Thole said. “The reason we are here at the housing department is because that is where all the housing offers are being made, so we saw fit to come to the home of housing so our voices are heard. This is not a protest; it’s a demonstration to show them that we were here, and our voices will be heard whether they like it or not,” she said.

A third-year student, who wished to remain anonymous, expressed frustration over the ongoing housing and fees crisis at UCT, saying: “It’s been nine years since Shackville, and here we are again with another housing and financial inclusion crisis. It’s disheartening to see protests over these critical issues, yet some people are more concerned about the postponement of a varsity rugby match.”

SRC hunger strike at Wits


UCT is not alone in facing challenges at the start of the 2025 academic year. Protests have erupted at multiple universities, including the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), the University of the Western Cape (UWC), and the University of the Free State (UFS), as students express frustration over fee blocks, housing shortages, and registration delays.

At the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), the SRC declared a hunger strike on 15 February, demanding accountability from the university for its failure to adequately support students during the registration process. SRC deputy president Boipelo Setsepu emphasised that the strike would continue until the university addressed the SRC’s concerns, underscoring their willingness to risk their health for equal access to education.

Wits responded on 17 February, with a statement highlighting its financial aid efforts, including R1.8-billion in bursaries and scholarships for more than 26,000 students in 2024. The university also reported allocating approximately R180-million towards student scholarships and R28-million from the hardship fund to assist with registration fees and emergency accommodation. 

While the university was doing everything within its means to support students, it clarified that it could not clear all historic student debt or fully fund every student’s education without risking financial instability. 

“The issue of free education and student debt clearance requires a national-level solution, involving the government, the public sector, and private donors. Student funding is an ongoing national challenge and requires broader national discussions and solutions,” read the statement. 

NSFAS woes continue 


On Monday, Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training, Buti Manamela, condemned the exploitation of vulnerable students by landlords, calling it both deplorable and deeply concerning. This follows disturbing reports that some landlords were demanding sexual favours from students in exchange for accommodation. Students faced numerous hardships, including muggings and landlords requesting sex for accommodation, largely due to delays by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) in paying for their tuition and housing.

Nape Senong, a mobiliser strategist at the advocacy campaign Youth Capital, said that there seemed to be a disconnect between NSFAS and the owners of private accommodation. Many students were listed as “pending acceptance”, and as a result, private accommodation providers were reluctant to accept these students.

Senong said that Youth Capital was running a campaign called “Let’s Fix NSFAS”, and that some issues surrounding student accommodation could be directly traced back to problems within NSFAS itself.

“The mismanagement and inefficiency within NSFAS have been ongoing, and it seems like these two entities — NSFAS and private accommodation providers — are in conflict, with the students caught in the middle. It also seems like private accommodation providers sometimes accept too many students, and then the students end up being the ones that are left homeless,” he said.

Youth Capital argues that resolving NSFAS issues could help tackle some of the accommodation challenges in higher education. However, Senong emphasised that it was not a complete solution as universities also needed to play their part by ensuring there was adequate accommodation for students.


In a statement released on Monday night, Good party national youth chairperson Kaden Arguile said: “As an organisation, we demand that the reality of our higher education system be reformed through these first steps.

  1. A national dialogue held between the Department of Higher Education and Training, student representatives and representatives from the various higher education institutions.

  2. The creation of a regulation ruleset regarding private accommodation that must be legally protected and enforced to ensure that should accommodation outsourcing occur, student exploitation is not a result.

  3. Release all data related to the NSFAS digitised system, including the costs, total breakdowns and buglist.” DM


Additional reporting by Siyabonga Goni and Ernst Calitz

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