The University of the Western Cape has obtained a court order to prevent a repeat of the violent protests that have rocked the campus since Monday.

Durban's Mangosuthu University of Technology was officially closed down on Friday following a week of student protests. A pamphlet distributed at the institution and signed by vice-chancellor and principal Aaron Ndlovu ordered all students to vacate the institution's residences and leave the premises by noon.

Students, security personnel and police engaged in running battles at Durban's Mangosuthu University of Technology on Wednesday. Rubber bullets were used by university security personnel and the public-order policing unit to disperse about 500 protesting students at the Umlazi campus, south of Durban.

The Durban University of Technology (DUT) and its student representative council (SRC) reached an agreement on outstanding student fees at a meeting on Monday. University spokesperson Nomondi Mbadi said the SRC had committed itself to ending student protests as an agreement in terms of outstanding student debt had been reached.

Strike action led by the Durban University of Technology's student representative council (SRC) looked set to continue after the SRC issued a statement on Saturday demanding an urgent meeting with management. The SRC and the management have been at loggerheads for the past two week over how to deal with the rising student debt.

Students, police and security personnel clashed in running battles on the Durban University of Technology's Steve Biko campus on Monday. Bricks, bottles and stones were thrown by the students. Journalists were chased from the administration block and a photographer was struck on the back by a student wielding a stick.

More than 200 students at Durban's University of Technology protested over registration fees at the institution's Steve Biko campus on Friday. Police said the protests at the institution started at about 10am and that the situation at the campus was "very tense".