A month into the academic year, more than 30 first-year NSFAS-funded students at Cape Peninsula University of Technology are sleeping in kitchens and study rooms due to an extended accommodation shortage, exacerbating the crisis that began with students camping outside campuses.
The accommodation crisis at Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), which saw students sleeping outside District Six and Bellville campuses at the start of the academic term in late January and early February, has worsened. Now, over a month into the year, more than 30 first-year students funded by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) remain in temporary accommodations that have stretched far beyond initial expectations.
Students, who requested anonymity, described dire conditions in a contracted residence. A Bachelor of Nautical Science student reported sleeping in a kitchen for weeks, struggling to iron uniforms, bathing in showers while changing nearby, and dealing with spoiled groceries like melted margarine amid cockroach infestations. 'When you are on campus, you just think of the place you are going to come back to, and you cannot focus on school,' the student said.
A Retail Management student, arriving two weeks prior, was shifted from a room after three days to the kitchen, leaving belongings unattended and relying on expensive takeaways that depleted funds rapidly. An Information Technology first-year sharing a study room with over 10 women highlighted privacy issues—changing in toilets due to cameras—lack of comfort, and financial strain, spending over R500 weekly on meals without storage or refrigeration. 'You cannot buy food. I arrived with money here, but now I do not have it.'
CPUT spokesperson Lauren Kansley acknowledged the temporary placements as a stopgap for late arrivals without prior arrangements, noting high costs to the university and impacts on other residents. Most eligible funded students are housed, but unfunded or ineligible ones must seek private options urgently.
The situation builds on last month's protests during President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address, where affected students marched with Higher Education Minister Buti Manamela and EFF’s Sihle Lonzi to eKhaya private residence. Lonzi called it a national issue: 'It’s actually happening across the country, where you have a limited number of student accommodations.' CPUT thanked vendors like eKhaya for short-notice aid, though permanent placements are private.