An agreement between student leaders and Sol Plaatje University in the Northern Cape was reached following disruptions – but at the University of Cape Town, protests continued on Thursday evening. 

At the centre of the disruptions at Sol Plaatje are issues related to student accommodation placements and food. 

The protest led to the temporary suspension of registration and orientation as student leaders vowed to prevent the university from opening its doors ahead of the 2023 academic year. 

The university confirmed an agreement between student representatives and university management was reached late on Wednesday evening.

The university said it had secured an additional 150 beds in Accredited Off-Campus Accommodation (AOCA), which would be made available for returning students from Saturday, 18 February.

"The university will continue to update and publish the AOCA list. However, students must then apply directly to the landlords for accommodation. Students must be registered and funded to access this type of accommodation. Landlords may require unfunded students to pay a rental deposit to secure AOCA," the university said in a statement. 

The university added that it would assist funded students by negotiating with the landlords with regard to the late payment of their first rent.

Regarding the issue of catering, the university said registered residence students, who wanted to access the dining hall, had to book their meals 48 hours in advance by using the Meal Management System. 

"This will ensure that we have catered for the correct number of students. The current manual system will be discontinued. The university will ensure that the caterer adheres to the agreement on the portion and quality of meals provided to our students," it added. 

On the issue of academic exclusion, the university said students, who appealed their academic exclusion by the initial deadline of 23 January 2023, would receive a response by Friday.

"Late appeals up to and including 10 February 2023 will receive a response during the week of 27 February 2023. No appeals received after 10 February 2023 will be considered for the 2023 academic year," it stressed.

The university maintained that it supported the right to peaceful protest and was committed to listening to all student grievances.

"However, the university strongly condemns any form of violence and damage to university property," it said. 

On Wednesday, staff and returning students were greeted by burning tyres and protesting students on campus. 

Meanwhile, the UCT SRC continued its protest and hosted a night vigil in honour of students affected by financial exclusion and the ongoing housing crisis, according to Swazi Hlophe, UCT's SRC vice-president.  

Previously, the SRC called for an emergency council meeting to address financial exclusion, fee blocks and a lack of student accommodation. 

Elijah Moholola, the university's spokesperson, told News24 that engagements were continuing between the university management and the SRC.

"There has been no disruptions or incidents reported on campus on Thursday, 16 February 2022. The university will provide further updates in due course," he said.