Students left in limbo as accommodation crisis unfolds at CPUT

Hundreds of students sat on pavements in District Six on Wednesday, their suitcases and duffle bags lined up beside them, waiting anxiously to hear whether they would secure student residence at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT).

As the new academic year approaches, many students do not have stable accommodation, with some sleeping outside the university’s District Six campus and relying on temporary or uncertain shelter arrangements.

For those who have travelled long distances to begin their studies, the situation has been both distressing and disorienting.

Although the university moved several students into temporary accommodation on Tuesday, February 3, a significant number were still left stranded as classes drew closer.

Students say their residence applications continue to reflect a “pending” status, leaving them unsure where they will sleep from one night to the next.

With returning students already attending classes and first-year students expected to arrive next week, concerns are mounting around student safety, academic readiness, and equal access to education.

CPUT spokesperson Lauren Kansley told Capetowner that while some students slept outside the campus on Monday, February 2, all affected students were provided with temporary accommodation by the evening of Tuesday, 3 February.

She said hundreds of students are currently being vetted for placement.

“We understand that there are frustrations around students not being able to get settled into accommodation, whether as a result of academic progress, disciplinary issues, or because they are not eligible for funding,” she said.

“The system works, if you work the system.”

Ms Kansley explained that ideally, students should apply for accommodation at the same time as they apply to study at CPUT, but final placement depends on eligibility.

She said that the university is able to house 16,200 students in accredited campus residences, with a further 4,000 beds available through private accommodation providers.

“There are enough spaces for students,” she said.

She also stressed that the presence of students outside the campus occurred ahead of the official start of the academic programme for first-years.

“First-year classes start on February 9, and students should only be arriving from February 6,” she said.

However, student representative Luyanda Dlamini said hundreds of students remain without accommodation and claimed this was not the first time the university has faced such a situation.

“Students arrive early to try and get settled, but instead they are left in without answers. While the university may be doing what it can, it is not enough. Students are worried about where their next meal or drink will come from.”

Among those waiting was Inathi Zide from KwaZulu-Natal, who sat beside her luggage along Hanover Street.

She said she arrived in District Six on Monday, February 2, and said she had not been able to freshen up since arriving.

“It’s uncomfortable and exhausting. Most of us here are eligible for residence, but we are being grouped with those on the waiting list.”

She alleged that while students were placed in temporary accommodation on Tuesday, they were later told to vacate as their applications were still pending.

Another student, Prince Mabhung from Limpopo, arrived on Wednesday, February 4, and said he was shocked by what he found.

“It is sad to think that I left my whole life behind to secure a future, only to find so much uncertainty. I wish I had known about this before coming so I could prepare myself,” he said.

As the Capetowner sat with the students, an energy drink company arrived and handed out refreshments.

Students quickly gathered around the van, with several saying it was the first thing they had had to drink all day — a small moment of relief amid an ongoing wait for answers.

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