S.African universities shut despite fee agreement

Many of them might join the Economic Freedom Fighters or the Democratic Alliance.

Price added there had been “diminishing investments by government in higher education over the past five years” as he praised “the courage and tenacity” of the student protesters. On others, such as the University of the Western Cape and the University of Johannesburg, the administrations called in police who used water cannon, stun grenades, pepper spray and even live ammunition to try to intimidate the students.

Numerous universities facing protests were white-only institutions under the apartheid regime. Stellenbosch University was granted an interdict banning any “disruptive activity” until December. At Wits University, 300 students were financially excluded, and at Rhodes University, 130 students could not come back to continue their degree programs. The university authorities secured a court order banning the EFF student branch and prohibiting it from participating in the student representative council elections following scuffles between the EFF and the ANC-aligned Sasco during election hustings. “Although we understand the reasons for students protesting, the continuation of the academic programme and the success of our students are of central importance and we urge students not to disrupt the academic programme”. The demonstration was locked out at UJ. Previous offers to cap increases to fees at 6% were rejected by the student movement. This is a statutory requirement – but one that takes no account of massive increases in student numbers, in real terms, of the subsidy provided by the government. UJ students, whose management had not yet announced its plans, demanded that they immediately reveal what their proposed increases would be.

INDEPENDENT MEDIA UWC students cheer as their leaders called for their #FeesMustFall protest to continue. This could mean that many global students will not have a place to stay at year end, and they could also risk violating their visa conditions.

What sets the #FeesMustFall apart is that it originated at the HWUs and has now spread across all universities. This changed not only the racial demographic but also the class profile of HWU.

A spokeswoman for Wits confirmed that the university would remain shut. Fees go up all the time, why is it such a big deal? You could have chosen to create an education system that you can be proud of. Only 50% of those who start school reach matric, the twelfth grade.

Another student Zezethu Mgweba said that free education needed to be extended for university as well and not just primary and high school. Now students have had enough. This isn’t supposition or opinion: it’s a fact borne out by the country’s own Department of Higher Education and Training. For years fee increases have been introduced with relatively little resistance.

There has been an insistence from the beginning that any struggle for decolonisation must be intersectional and recognise not only the role played by women, but that transformation must have gender relations as central tenet. The students have not much national direction or co-ordination.

There’s a new generation coming and they are angrier than before. An estimated 10 000 homes are repossessed annually. The group of predominantly black students felt as if they were unwelcome at the university that persisted in using Afrikaans as the medium of instruction for classes.

The government has reacted to events like inhabitants of a parallel universe.

Meanwhile on the morning of Wednesday, October 21, in the Parliament of the usually quite serene streets of Cape Town, doors were tied together with cables and couches were pushed against them as the officials inside became increasingly anxious about the young, protesting electorate outside. As always in conditions of mass protests that threatens the ruling elite, that deal, agreed without any negotiations with students, had the opposite effect. It infuriated the students and wetted the appetite for more.

Mantashe said earlier the ANC sympathizes with protesting students, but resources does not permit their demands. While a minority attacked the students and the majority stayed quiet, an active minority came out in support. Instead, South Africans increasingly look to poor government policy as a key factor in the ongoing racially-based income divide.

As Zuma approaches the end of his second term as president, the succession battle has intensified. This more than wiped out the membership surge to 1.2m that followed his election in 2007.

Signs of dissent are emerging‚ though‚ as a few students say they want to write their final exams.

TEN attractive days of struggle have won the students of South Africa a great victory.

Students prepare to march on Luthuli House in Johannesburg, Thursday, October 22. The underlying class issues in these demands soon broke through the shell of the language of black consciousness in which it was couched. At UCT, Rhodes, UJ and Wits solidarity committees took action in support of workers demanding insourcing of outsourced services and workers. There is no love lost between students and the police, as well as the government. It only inflamed their anger.

“Our draft time table states that exams will begin on November 4”, Noah said.