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Parliament to summon CPUT council amid protests

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Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Higher Education has lashed out at the council of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) for failing to present its report on the state of affairs at the institution.

The committee on Wednesday embarked on an oversight visit to the campus in Bellville following violent protests last year and earlier this month.

Committee Chairperson, Cornelia September, says they’ve decided to summon the council to appear before the committee in Parliament.

“For you to meet on a Saturday and decide in your own little corner, you will not be accountable to parliament is highly irregular. I’m not sure if the two council members that are here associate themselves with such illegality. The only luck you have is that parliament is going to the Easter recess otherwise you would come to parliament as the council to make a presentation.”

Students at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology have asked Parliament to intervene to end violent protests at the institution. They say management has failed to respond to a number of student issues  including a lack  of accommodation and safety.

The SRC at CPUT says a failure by management to address students’ concerns has led to the violent protests.
There have been several sporadic incidents at the institution since October last year linked to contracts on in sourcing.

Students were also unhappy after the university brought an interdict against four students accused of disrupting a council meeting and threatening to burn down buildings.

Trade union Nehawu says it supports the students and has called for a national summit to address challenges at universities.

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