14:25
The University of Cape Town (UCT) will provide pre-paid data to all students with valid South African cellphone numbers, using information provided via UCT’s PeopleSoft record-keeping system.
Students will receive between 30 and 40 GB depending on their network provider, valid for 30 days during the next week. Students not registered on PeopleSoft are encouraged to log on and provide their mobile numbers immediately.
Cell C, Vodacom and Telkom have agreed to zero-rated access to certain UCT sites. These sites include:
Should staff or students be authenticating to a site other than the ones listed above as zero-rated (such as LinkedIn Learning, for instance) that site will incur data charges.
For students who cannot access the internet in any form, the university is setting up an additional system to distribute printed learning material and USB drives.
Students are encouraged to contact their faculty advisors or departments via Vula with any questions that relate to online learning or the receipt of printed learning materials and USB drives.
For technical questions, students can also contact the ICTS Helpdesk by emailing icts-helpdesk@uct.ac.za or phoning 021 650 4500 during office hours.
The UCT community is invested in getting students through this difficult and uncertain time.
11:30
The University of Cape Town (UCT) has set up a COVID-19 emergency fund to assist in the fight against the virus and its impact on the UCT community.
Staff, students and alumni are urged to rally behind the fight against the pandemic by making contributions to the fund. Any amount will go a long way towards assisting UCT readjust to these extraordinary times.
UCT Vice-Chancellor Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng will donate 20% of her salary to the fund for a three-month period. The VC will also continue to donate 10% of her salary to the Mamokgethi Phakeng Scholarship Fund every month.
In addition to the COVID-19 emergency fund that has been set up through the Development and Alumni Department, UCT Council has approved a separate R30 million fund to assist the university with responding to the pandemic. Funds already raised, including the R5 million donation by the Motsepe Foundation, have provided an invaluable source of crucial support for UCT in implementing a range of measures to support students. These include the purchase of laptops for students in need so they can continue with online learning and assistance with travel arrangements for students, including to other African countries.
When the lockdown is lifted, funds will support a critical need to ensure the safety of everyone through, among others, the purchasing of all the necessary personal protective equipment.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Please view the republishing articles page for more information.
COVID-19 is a global pandemic that caused President Cyril Ramaphosa to declare a national disaster in South Africa on 15 March and implement a national lockdown from 26 March.
UCT is taking the threat of infection in our university community extremely seriously, and this page will be updated regularly with the latest COVID-19 information.
Getting credible, evidence-based, accessible information and recommendations relating to COVID-19
The Department of Medicine at the University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital, are producing educational video material for use on digital platforms and in multiple languages. The information contained in these videos is authenticated and endorsed by the team of experts based in the Department of Medicine. Many of the recommendations are based on current best evidence and are aligned to provincial, national and international guidelines. For more information on UCT’s Department of Medicine, please visit the website.
To watch more videos like these, visit the Department of Medicine’s YouTube channel.
As the COVID-19 crisis drags on and evolves, civil society groups are responding to growing and diversifying needs – just when access to resources is becoming more insecure, writes UCT’s Prof Ralph Hamann.
03 Jul 2020 - 6 min read RepublishedThe Covid-19 crisis has reinforced the global consequences of fragmented, inadequate and inequitable healthcare systems and the damage caused by hesitant and poorly communicated responses.
24 Jun 2020 - >10 min read OpinionOur scientists must not practise in isolation, but be encouraged to be creative and increase our knowledge of the needs of developing economies, write Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng, vice-chancellor of UCT, and Professor Thokozani Majozi from the University of the Witwatersrand.
09 Jun 2020 - 6 min read RepublishedSouth Africa has been recognised globally for its success in flattening the curve, which came as a result of President Ramaphosa responding quickly to the crisis, writes Prof Alan Hirsch.
28 Apr 2020 - 6 min read RepublishedIn an email to the UCT community, Vice-Chancellor Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng said:
“COVID-19, caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2, is a rapidly changing epidemic. [...] Information [...] will be updated as and when new information becomes available.”
We are continuing to monitor the situation and we will be updating the UCT community regularly – as and when there are further updates. If you are concerned or need more information, students can contact the Student Wellness Service on 021 650 5620 or 021 650 1271 (after hours), while staff can contact 021 650 5685.