The Vaal University of Technology’s (VUT) Vanderbijlpark campus has descended into chaos with students and police officers clashing.

That’s according to police spokesperson Captain Fikile Funda‚ who was at the scene of the protests on Thursday.

“It’s chaos. The students have been given an ultimatum to get [off campus].”

Public order police officers fired light grenades to disperse the crowd‚ he said.

University operations have been shut down following a spate of student protests this week.

Students have been asked to vacate residences by 2pm on Thursday in light of the “escalating violence”‚ the university said in a statement.

Repairs to Vaal University of Technology could cost over R1-million

Buildings on campus were torched on Wednesday night.

The university had announced plans for classes to resume on Thursday‚ but it has now been shut down indefinitely.

Funda said students had their sights set on burning the campus’ main building.

“They [are] making noise‚ screaming‚ singing‚ mobilising each other and attacking security officers‚” he said.

A memorandum handed to the university by students this week‚ which demanded the release of students who had been arrested or suspended due to protests on campus‚ was posted on VUT’s Facebook page.