Protests at the University of Cape Town (UCT) flared up on Thursday evening after it maintained its position that it would not scrap students' historical debt.

Several students burnt refuse bins during demonstrations at the university's Lower Campus, while police maintained a strong presence. 

The university's executive and the student representative council (SRC) have been at odds over a proposal that was tabled during a council meeting on Monday night for the university to "lift" fee blocks as a blanket concession.

Police spokesperson, Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi, said around 50 students gathered at Lower Campus on Thursday night, where they threw bins into the street and set them alight.

Public Order Police officers responded, but did not need to take action, he added.

UCT described the protest as "unlawful", given that an interim interdict was in place, which the Western Cape High Court granted on 17 February, and said the police were called to intervene.

"The UCT executive reiterates its stance on upholding the right to legitimate protest, but will act against any unlawful activities," said UCT spokesperson Elijah Moholola.

In a statement on Thursday evening, the EFF Student Command (EFFSC) condemned the university's decision to call the police to the campus. 

"This is after students have continued to peacefully protest after the university council rejected the proposal to uplift fee blocks and subsequently aid the financial exclusion of 7 535 students who are academically eligible," it said. 

It accused the university of "criminalising students who are desperate to study".

"UCT and the council is not acting like an institution of higher learning where thought should thrive, but believes that violence is the only order to solve poor governance and lack of leadership," it added.

But Moholola earlier told News24 that the university increased the fee block threshold from R1 000 to R10 000 for South African students, which allowed more than 3 400 to register for the 2023 academic year.

"The further proposal put forward [by the] UCT executive on 24 February 2023 to manage fee blocks had been rejected by the SRC prior to this meeting (on Monday night). The SRC's proposal for the complete lifting of all fee blocks was not supported by council," Moholola added. 

He added that around 1 500 students were yet to register due to fee blocks. Some of them are not academically eligible, he said.

"The UCT executive has worked hard to maximise eligibility for registration of academically eligible students. Since December 2022, UCT has put in place a number of measures that have enabled approximately 4 000 additional students who started out with fee blocks to register for the 2023 academic year," Moholola said.

The university said its student fee debt had increased nearly fourfold and that some students had made no payments.

Its cumulative historic student debt stands at more than R385-million.