UCT's faculty of health sciences has suspended all face-to-face classes for the first-, second- and third-year undergraduate programmes for the rest of the year.
Faculty dean Bongani Mayosi said it would complete teaching and exams in a mini-semester in January, followed by the final exams.
“Due to the protest action on campuses, we have decided to suspend these face-face activities on these levels for the safety of our students. While our other programmes are running, we felt this was in the best interest of our students and the faculty at this juncture,” said Mayosi.
The university said two private security guards were brutally attacked on Upper Campus. One was allegedly beaten up by a group of protesters near the food court.
UCT spokesperson Elijah Moholola said: "The other had a rock dropped on his head from an upper storey of the Steve Biko Student’s Union building. Both guards sustained significant injuries and had to be admitted to hospital.”
Meanwhile, student leader Masixole Mlandu and four students arrested on Tuesday for protest action at UCT have been released on R500 bail.
The bail conditions Mlandu received for the Shackville protest of February still stand and the next court date is November 23.
Student activist Simon Rakei said a way forward would be discussed.
At the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), thousands of students and staff held a general assembly at its Cape Town campus yesterday. Workers, students, faculty leaders and parents were called to discuss the issues facing the university, and coming up with resolutions to bring about normality.
The students called for the university to join them in the call for free education by leading them to next week's budget speech at Parliament.
CPUT vice-chancellor Prins Nevhutalu said: “We had found we needed more time and the matter will be addressed at our November executive meeting.”
This upset workers, including Sylvia Mqolwana, who went to the front to show her payslip of R2 500 a month, crying as she explained her hardship. Another worker, Maritza Williams, said she had been working at CPUT since 1988 and has been working on contract for different companies over the years.
“This is nothing, and they don’t care, they have high salaries and live luxuriously while we must scrap to make a living.”