A small group of students from the University of the Western Cape protested outside a student residence ahead of its official unveiling.
Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande was expected to unveil the newly built Unibell residence on Monday.
The 2,700-bed facility started accommodating first-year students at the beginning of the year.
The university claimed that the residence was fitted with water and electricity-generating technology to shield students from load shedding.
The Residence is fitted with water and electricity generating technology that allows it to go off-grid. It features several environmentally friendly characteristics that represent the future of higher education accommodation.#UnibelResidence #IAmUWC pic.twitter.com/a5BzFjydZI
— UWC (@UWConline) April 24, 2023
However, protesting students dismissed the claims.
Student representative council president Mandla Notyawa said that the first-year students accommodated at the Unibell residence do not have water when there’s load shedding.
He said that they had engaged the university’s management on several occasions about the state of living at the Unibell residence.
Notyawa said that officially unveiling the residence while problems persisted was misguided.
“The water system is linked to electricity, when the electricity is gone, water is also gone. So, it means that students go for hours without having water since this place was opened.”
Protesting students said they hoped that Nzimande could listen to their grievances.
-EWN
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