Students blocked the entrance of the campus on Tuesday during ongoing protests.
Image: Lilita Gcwabe
With graduation looming just days away, Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) dental science students have escalated their protests, demanding the suspension of Vice-Chancellor Prof Chris Nhlapo amid growing anger over delays, safety concerns, and what they describe as a failure of leadership.
Wednesday marked the third day of the strike, with tensions reaching a boiling point after a meeting with university management left students feeling unheard.
"I am supposed to graduate next week," one fourth-year student said. "But I have no idea how that will happen when we have not had any classes since 2025."
For many, the moment that should mark the end of their academic journey has instead become a source of anxiety and distress.
Students say the protests, which began on Monday, were triggered by prolonged class cancellations but have since exposed deeper systemic issues, from campus safety to accommodation instability.
On Wednesday, students formally called for the Vice-Chancellor’s suspension.
"When we submitted our memorandum, he gaslighted us and did not answer our concerns," a student said. "Moreover, robberies have occurred on campus, and he has normalised the experience of being robbed."
In a letter addressed to the Vice-Chancellor, students cited "continued inaction on pressing student concerns, including unresolved academic disruptions and accommodation challenges", as well as an "ongoing safety crisis on campus".
A letter sent by students to Vice-Chancellor Prof Chris Nhlapo demanding his suspension.
Image: Supplied
University spokesperson Lauren Kansley described Nhlapo as a leader who had stabilised the institution after the Fees Must Fall protests and elevated its national standing.
"The VC has regular meetings with oversight stakeholders like the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and the Minister of Higher Education and Training," she said.
"Anyone who would like to make a serious complaint may approach those bodies and have it investigated."
Kansley did not respond to specific questions but criticised what she described as attempts to undermine university leadership.
"Character assassination of university leadership… should be analysed for what it is, anonymous rogue actors making vague and damaging claims which they are unable to provide evidence for," she said.
The fourth-year student said her experience reflects years of instability and broken promises.
She recalled witnessing protests by Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) dental students during her first year in 2022 and being reassured it would not affect her.
"We believed because it was a different course that it would not affect us," she said.
Now, she says, history is repeating itself.
"What we are experiencing now gives me flashbacks of what I saw in my first year."
Students say they were repeatedly promised that facilities would be ready and academic timelines would be adjusted to ensure they could graduate on time.
"By the end of March, we were supposed to have completed everything," she said. "We were told that by December, the building would be ready… and that we would extend our practicals to February 2026."
Instead, delays have continued, forcing students to put their lives on hold.
The fourth-year student said: "Some of us planned to do our Master's, others wanted to start working… but we had to stop all those plans.
"We were told to return on January 12, when everything would be sorted regarding transport, fees, residence, and allowances. But when we arrived, there were so many challenges."
lilita.gcwabe@inl.co.za