Overview
- The university announced the shutdown on Tuesday after a Monday evening arson attack that burned the Old Education building at the Bellville campus and followed days of protesting that included torching and other damage.
- CPUT ordered all residences vacated within 24 hours, a deadline many students and SRC leaders defied because they lack money to return home and rely on NSFAS support or live in other provinces.
- Management says the closure aims to protect lives and de-escalate violence while essential staff work remotely, and the university reports damages above R1 million and campus security bolstered during the evacuations.
- The disputed draft 2027 Financial Recovery Plan that triggered the protests was withdrawn conditionally, but debt totals remain contested—Parliament cited R4.2 billion while CPUT spokespersons say student debt is R2.1 billion—and students demand unconditional withdrawal plus release of withheld academic records.
- Higher Education Minister Buti Manamela has sent a departmental team to broker urgent talks between management, council and student leaders, which could determine whether teaching resumes, how displaced students are supported and whether independent oversight or investigations follow.