UCT library evacuated as 3 students attempt shutdown
19 September 2017
Cape Town – Three University of Cape Town (UCT) students tried to shut down the library and some faculty buildings on Tuesday. University spokesperson Elijah Moholola confirmed that the library was evacuated during a short-lived attempted shutdown, but it was soon reopened."Members of the UCT executive, as well as Students Representative Council members, engaged the disrupters. They have now left the library area. Academic and administrative activities are continuing," he said.
It was not immediately clear what the issue was, but a strike over the university's insourcing process was averted last week.
In 2015, students from around South Africa rallied for university fees to be scrapped under the banner #FeesMustFall. They secured a fee freeze for 2016, after action which included storming the precinct of Parliament.
Towards the end of 2016, protests flared again, over fees for 2017. Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande then announced that the pool for students who qualified for loans had widened to include more poor students.
It is currently the season for the election of representatives to the Student Representative Council on the campus.
