CPUT students return to classes after weeks-long shutdown - IOL

Students return to classes at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) following a recent campus shutdown that disrupted academic activities. The reopening marks a return to learning as students and staff resume their academic programmes across the institution.

Students at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) have returned to classes on Monday, after a weeks-long disruption that brought academic activities to a standstill and forced the university to evacuate students from its residences.

The resumption comes after CPUT adjusted its 2026 academic calendar to make up for teaching time lost during the shutdown.

The university said the revised academic plan was dependent on academic activities resuming on Monday.

The disruption started in August as students protested over financial concerns, including disagreements around the university's proposed Financial Recovery Plan and registration-related payments.

CPUT suspended its academic programme on August 18 after protests escalated at some of its campuses. Students living in university residences were then instructed to vacate the residences as the university assessed the security situation.

The protests also resulted in damage to university infrastructure. CPUT said at the time that the damage was estimated at more than R1 million, including a building at its Bellville campus that was set alight.

The shutdown prompted intervention from the Department of Higher Education and Training, with a ministerial delegation brought in to help mediate between student leaders and university management.

The department condemned the destruction of university infrastructure, violence and intimidation, while CPUT said it welcomed the intervention as a means of restoring calm and allowing the academic programme to resume.

The university subsequently worked on repairing damaged infrastructure and preparing its campuses for the return of students.

By early September, CPUT said it remained on track to resume academic activities on Monday.

CPUT has also had to revise its academic programme to recover the approximately three weeks of tuition lost during the disruption. The academic year is expected to run later into December as the university works to recover the lost teaching time.