CUT students given until Tuesday to vacate Bloemfontein campus

26 September 2016

Bloemfontein – Students at the Central University of Technology in Bloemfontein have been given until Tuesday to vacate the campus over safety concerns, the student representative council (SRC) said on Monday.

University management gave students until Tuesday at 12:00 to vacate their residences, said SRC president Thapelo Ngozo.

"The vice chancellor has called for the campus to be closed with immediate effect, which doesn't make sense," said Ngozo.

"We are not prepared to leave, even if they decide to shoot us; they can, but we are not leaving," he said.

A handful of students protested on campus on Monday morning, while campus security monitored

them.

Ngozo claimed that university management wanted to soften students up so they would not protest.

"They can't expect students who are funded by NSFAS to afford to go home. I am from Mpumalanga and I need R800 to get home, and as an orphan I can't afford it," he said.

Sheriff of the High Court in Bloemfontein Chris de Wet was on campus during the protest to ensure that the students acted in awareness of the December 2015 court interdict.

The court interdict prohibits students from doing anything which directly or indirectly obstructs or interferes with tests or exams.

It also prohibits protesters from threatening or assaulting other students.

The university said it would comment at a later stage.

This article first appeared on News 24, see here.