Access to the entrances of the University of Cape Town (UCT) have been blockaded by strikers this morning, the first day of term for the new year. Campus radio station UCT Radio this morning reported several blockades at campus entrances in and around UCT and that many students will be unable to access campus.
The strike is being led by the UCT Students Representative council (SRC) in protest of the university’s fee blocks and what it terms a housing crisis. The SRC called for the strike yesterday, saying that failing to negotiate accommodation for all students, “The SRC and 13 students were force to sleep on campus”.
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Last Friday, February 10, the UCT SRC issued a statement entitled “Housing crisis, fee blocks and NSFAS” in which is restated that it “has a very clear stance on fee blocks: they are a tool of oppression against Black and poor students and should be eradicated altogether.
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Earlier this morning, the SRC posted to its Instagram account to say “Campus has been shutdown and academic activity has been suspended. Stand in solidarity with the SRC.”
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At the time of publishing, the post had received just over 200 likes, however reactions were also mixed. The group UCT SRC Watch and some students also posted their frustration at the disruption to classes.
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The station will be monitoring the situation and you can tune to listen to updates at: studentnews.africa/profile/uct-radio
