When Education Minister Blade Nzimande announced an 8% increment for students whose families earned more than R600 000 a year, little did he expect students’ retaliation to the news to cost the country almost R1 billion in damages.

Three weeks later, majority of the countries universities have closed. While university vice-chancellors and the Education Department attempt to reach a common understanding with protesting students, many are homeless or forced to share rooms with friends and often have to borrow money to rent cheap, and sometimes dilapidated accommodation as they are unable to afford housing in addition to exorbitant university fees.

The Education Department stepped in and said it wants to develop a model to assist in increasing available student accommodation around universities.

Lindiwe Sisulu, MP and Human Settlements minister said she would meet with developers and private investors in the inner cities to help develop the model.

“As Government we believe that some of the rundown buildings in our inner cities can be used for accommodating students,” Sisulu said, and added that the department was working on this as an “urgent project”.