Update on student accommodation and fee debt

Dear colleagues and students

I have noted with concern a pattern of harmful actions over the past few weeks related to student frustration over accommodation and fee debt. In the most recent development, posters and graffiti were put up on upper campus in the early hours of Thursday, 13 February 2025.

I sympathise with the adverse circumstances of our students, and we continue to put in place interventions to alleviate adversity. However, I condemn in the strongest possible terms any conduct that may bring distress or harm to other students and staff at the University of Cape Town (UCT), as this goes against our values and effort to heal the campus from polarisation and fractures.

Additionally, there have been a number of inflammatory public and social media statements by the Students’ Representative Council (SRC) in recent weeks. These emanated from perceived issues around fee debt and student housing (including transit and vacation accommodation). While I have opted not to engage with these acts publicly, consequence management will be implemented for violations of our code of conduct.

I wish to remind all UCT students, in no unclear terms, that actions have consequences, and any violation of the student code of conduct (Handbook 3, 2025) will be subjected to appropriate disciplinary action.

I hope further clarity on the following issues may be of assistance to the UCT community:

Financial relief measures

The executive has communicated to the SRC, on several occasions, the measures put in place to assist financially challenged students who are academically eligible. These relief measures have been put in place with a particular focus on enabling academic access for financially vulnerable students.

These measures include:

• a policy which allows students with debt below R10 000 to register (ie students do not need to have zero debt to register but need to reduce the outstanding balance to less than R10 000); this measure has resulted in approximately 4 000 students being eligible to register in 2025
• internal UCT bursaries and donor funding, which has benefitted eligible 1 316 students with debts of over R10 000
• fee relief measures for NSFAS-eligible students, which benefited 1 171 students
• loan agreements are available for students with debt over R10 000, but uptake is currently still low.

Furthermore, the SRC Assistance Funding (including Afrifund) has benefited 26 students.

Unfortunately, there will be no further concessions beyond what can be provided within our available budget.

Vacation accommodation

Each year, the university provides vacation accommodation to a number of students who fall within specific defined categories, including those writing deferred exams, some postgraduate students and those who remain for other academic purposes such as bootcamps. This type of accommodation is short-term in duration, provided typically between December and January. It levies a fee and is based on a contractual agreement with students.

All students occupying UCT residences over the vacation period (December 2024 and January 2025), would have been informed of the departure date of Monday, 20 January 2025. Since UCT residences open for term-time occupation very early in the year, this departure date is necessary in order to allow sufficient time for the cleaning and maintenance work ahead of the commencement of the academic year.

However, for a number of reasons, there was a group of students who opted not to vacate rooms by the agreed deadline, making it difficult for Student Housing to allocate these rooms for eligible students in 2025.

Understanding that some students who had to vacate rooms might be from challenging socio-economic backgrounds, UCT continued to provide meals to this group during the additional period they occupied residences. The university further offered transport support (bus ticket) to those students who have since become academically ineligible to continue in 2025.

Despite having put all these measures in place, there is regrettably a small group of approximately 38 students who have not yet vacated university rooms, resulting in a cumulative cost of R2.8 million to date. While these students have not been forcibly removed, they have received eviction notices.

Transit accommodation

Transit accommodation is provided by the university, with first-year students being the priority. UCT secured 150 beds through an off-campus service provider for this purpose.

In 2025, all first-year students awaiting residence offers were housed in transit accommodation. UCT is not able to extend the same offering to returning students who have outstanding fees. Furthermore, Student Housing has made every attempt to secure temporary accommodation for students who have pending matters.

It should be noted that a small number of students have, for various reasons, reportedly been residing at the SRC offices. Approximately 39 students with outstanding fees were part of this group as at the morning of Thursday, 13 February. Given that the SRC offices are not a designated residential space, and in light of the health and safety risks posed by this, UCT cannot allow this practice to continue.

Should any student within this group be found to be eligible to study at UCT in 2025, the university will offer support through the provision of transit accommodation and/or assistance with securing alternative off-campus accommodation.

For students whose status is pending, the university’s support measures would include an option for them to take special leave of absence for 2025 (applications must be submitted by 7 March 2025), and assistance with travel costs (bus ticket).

As the university executive, we urge students to honour payments of their fee accounts and access available financial support. We shall continue to engage with the SRC to resolve outstanding student matters, and we remain committed to ensuring that the 2025 academic year runs as smoothly as possible.

Yours sincerely

Professor Mosa Moshabela
Vice-Chancellor

Read previous communications:

• From the UCT Executive
• Campus Announcements