UCT Faces Student Unrest Over Fee Blocks and Housing Crisis
UCT students gather on campus in February 2023 to picket for accommodation. They marched to the Bremner Building to air their demands. (Photo: Xabiso Mkhabela)
The University of Cape Town (UCT) is experiencing mounting unrest as students protest against fee blocks and housing shortages, creating a chaotic start to the 2025 academic year.
In a statement released on Monday, UCT’s Faculty of Humanities dean, Professor Shose Kessi, acknowledged the potential for major disruptions. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Rhodes Must Fall and Fees Must Fall movements, and tensions have reignited as students demand action on long-standing financial and accommodation challenges.
Protests and Student Mobilization
Thousands of students marched from UCT’s upper campus to the main administrative building, delivering a memorandum that demands an end to fee blocks, among other urgent issues. The university has warned that continued demonstrations could lead to class cancellations or a shift to online learning.
Many students have been forced to occupy the offices of the Students’ Representative Council (SRC) and other campus societies due to their inability to register for the academic year or access student housing. Khanya Bente, a second-year student affected by these policies, described the dire conditions students are enduring.
“They told us to come, they never said don’t come, but then they just turned us away,” said Bente. “Some students have had breakdowns because nobody expects to be in this kind of environment.”
Despite an interdict enacted on 17 February prohibiting unlawful protest action, students continued their demonstrations. SRC president Thando Lukhele refuted claims that the gatherings were protests but warned that mobilization could escalate if demands were not met.
Housing Crisis Deepens
On 15 February, the SRC issued an open letter to UCT’s executive, outlining concerns about financial barriers, accommodation shortages, mental health support, and academic policy failures. The SRC emphasized that these problems have worsened over time, with no meaningful resolutions in place.
The letter highlighted the university’s failure to prioritize student housing, forcing students to seek shelter in SRC offices, lecture halls, and other campus spaces. The SRC expressed dismay over management’s lack of engagement with affected students.
“Not a single member of UCT’s management has visited or directly interacted with the displaced students,” the letter stated. “Instead, the institution has criminalized those seeking a basic right to shelter.”
The SRC demanded immediate housing solutions, expanded accommodation relief, and emergency shelter for homeless students, not just first-years.
University’s Response and Financial Relief Measures
UCT Vice-Chancellor Mosa Moshabela addressed the crisis, acknowledging the students’ frustrations but condemning actions such as graffiti and disruptive demonstrations. He warned that disciplinary action would be taken against those violating the university’s code of conduct.
Moshabela also explained the university’s financial relief efforts:
- Students with debts under R10,000 can register.
- Internal bursaries and donor funding have supported 1,316 students.
- NSFAS students received additional fee relief, benefitting 1,171 students.
- Loan agreements are available for those with debts over R10,000, but uptake remains low.
- SRC Assistance Funding has supported 26 students.
However, the SRC rejected these measures as insufficient, arguing that thousands remain financially excluded and that existing support structures fail to address the scale of the crisis.
Standoff Between Students and Management
Moshabela met with protesting students outside UCT’s main administrative building, acknowledging the SRC’s demands but reiterating that financial constraints limit the university’s ability to meet them. Lukhele dismissed the response as inadequate, stating that the SRC had submitted these demands weeks prior and that the university had failed to act.
As tensions remain high, the fate of the 2025 academic year hangs in the balance, with students and management locked in a standoff over access to education and housing.
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