Cape Town – There is no longer a need for concern that a group of University of the Western Cape (UWC) students, who for various reasons could not go home and opted to remain in university accommodation, would not be fed.
On Tuesday, the ANC in the Western Cape legislature welcomed the "progressive decision" by UWC to feed the 116 on-campus and 254 off-campus students during the national COVID-19 lockdown.
The students have been provided with non-perishable foodstuffs from the UWC campus Foodbank as well as the one spaza shop on campus that remains open.
UWC was also praised for holding an unconventional virtual graduation ceremony today.
"We are grateful that UWC has indeed made the necessary arrangements to feed 116 students who are in on-campus (internal) accommodation and an additional group of 254 students who are in off-campus (external) accommodation. There are also international students in the group of 254," the ANC said.
"We wish to once again call on the UWC SRC to ensure that those students using the university’s accommodation behave responsibly and also practice safety measures that will stop the Coronavirus from spreading.
"We also want to point out the special place UWC has in the history of the struggle for freedom for all in South Africa. The apartheid rulers had designated it as a bush college for what it labelled coloureds.
"However, students turned the campus into a site of struggle and it became known as the university of the working class and the intellectual home of the left, a home for freedom fighters, be they intellectuals, politicians, judges or professionals in the new South Africa.
"It is because of this rich heritage that we also want to congratulate UWC for holding an unconventional virtual graduation ceremony today.
"Today’s pioneering ceremony, held as South Africa is gripped in a 21-day lockdown called to resist the coronavirus, will be made available on various platforms, including the university's website."