Cape Town - Cape Peninsula University Technology has suspended exams until next year.
CPUT, which was determined on finishing year end exams despite ongoing violent protest, took the unprecedented step following the arrest of 43 students on Monday.
They face charges of public violence and participating in an illegal gathering, and are expected to appear in the Bellville Magistrate’s Court today.
Chaos broke out when protestors clashed with police on the Bellville campus.
Earlier the morning, exams at the Bellville campus were postponed after vandals damaged water pipes, causing flooding at the Major Sports Hall overnight.
Students and staff were met by pools of water, damaged desks and chairs and camera screens.
It appears that when students heard the exams will still go ahead, a group stormed the auditorium where examinations were set to be written.
Singing and dancing, the crowd broke down doors and threw chairs on the floor, before ripping fire extinguishers from the walls.
Police fired stun grenades to disperse the angry mob that started pelting the security guards with stones, and exams were cancelled for the day.
CPUT spokesperson Lauren Kansley says Monday’s events has forced CPUTs hand to shut down.
Kansley says: “We resisted this as we were aware that the postponement of examinations could have a major impact on the future careers of some of our students.”
“...after much deliberation, our Executive of Senate took the unprecedented decision of postponing examinations until Monday, 11 January 2016.”
A third-year protestor says they will not stop until their demands are met.
“We want to write exams but the university must clear up the outsourcing issue now.
“We are not backing down,” he says.
Daily Voice