A group of students staged a sit in outside the institution’s administration building earlier to call for the university’s management to address grievances that have apparently been raised since the start of 2016.

They are calling for UCT to ensure there are enough wheelchair ramps and that fire alarms be made accessible to deaf students.

Concerns have been raised that some buildings are not friendly to disabled students.

UCT student Khanyisa Ntombeni says they’ve complained about the issues for too long.

“I have already put in an application with the SAHRC to investigate the discrimination of differently-abled students. But we also wanted to have a consolidated plan among differently-abled students about how we were going to force the university to engage with these issues.“

But UCT spokesperson Elijah Moholola says they are currently addressing concerns.

“New buildings on campus have to conform to strict accessibility requirements and when any significant maintenance takes place, accessibility challenges for people with disabilities have to be addressed.”

UCT is aware of the SAHRC complaint.

Source: EWN