Lectures were suspended on Wednesday at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) after protesting students burned tyres and barricaded the entrances to two campuses of the Pretoria institution.
In the morning students blocked the gates and prevented anyone from entering the Pretoria and Ga-Rankuwa campuses.
TUT employs more than 2,700 permanent staff members, including some 855 highly qualified permanent academics.
Police maintained a heavy presence at the university, but did not clash with the students.
This comes after protesting students held a night vigil at the university. They vowed to shut down TUT until the government has responded on their demands for free education.
Students at state universities across the country have been protesting for free education under the campaign #FeesMustFall.
Protests began three weeks ago after Minister of Higher Education Blade Nzimande announced that state universities could decide on their own how much to hike their fees for 2017, but such increases were capped at eight percent.
On Wednesday, TUT spokesperson Willa de Ruyter said the university had suspended classes for Wednesday.
“Due to protest action that erupted this morning and the barricading of gates, Pretoria and Ga-Rankuwa staff and students have been advised to go home for the remainder of the day,” De Ryter said.
“We will continue to monitor the situation at all campuses and will update you during the course of the day.”
Protesting students ejected non-protesting students from their residences, and forced them to join their protest. They then left the main campus and were on making their way to Arcadia campus.
However, the TUT Students Representative Council (SRC) has distanced itself from the protest.
Meanwhile, KickOff reported that clashes at TUT had also disrupted plans for Egyptian sports club, Zamalek, as they are now forced to find an alternative training venue ahead of the CAF Champions League final first leg against Mamelodi Sundowns on Saturday.
Zamalek were set to train at the TUT sports grounds ahead of the clash at the Lucas Moripe Stadium, but the team’s safety has come under scrutiny with the ongoing #FeesMustFall protests.
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