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47 years after the death of Hector Petersen, the fight for free education continues, despite it being one of the principles contained in the freedom charter, writes William Sezoe.
As we commemorate, the brave fight of Soweto students 47 years ago this month, we must acknowledge the struggle of our people in fighting for a more just and equal society. Nearly five decades on from June 16th, the question remains whether the new democratic government led by the African National Congress (ANC) values and respects the sacrifices and pleas of the youth, which gained traction during those oppressive days.
These sacrifices were blood sacrifices as many of these young people put their lives on the line for not only an ideal and dream to be free but to be truly liberated from a repressive, and undemocractic government. People like Hector Petersen were one of those young brave schoolboys who died at the hands of the apartheid police. His death must and can never go in vain. It is a symbol of how young people were prepared to halt their education to fight for an equal, fair, and just society.
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Their fight was part of the battle for “free and compulsory education”, as outlined in the Freedom Charter, which was created by the people for the people during the time of struggle. However, thirty years after democracy, the struggle continues, or as our predecessors would say, "Aluta Continua."
The ANC-led government has failed us
One would have thought that the ANC would rectify some of the injustices caused by the National Party led-government, during apartheid, by sticking to the promise of having a government led "by its people for its people," but the reality which South Africans face daily shows that this government has failed us in many spheres, which includes leaving the call for "free education" still unanswered.
During #FeestMustFall in 2015/2016, we saw how a new generation of young people and scholars led a renewed call for the attainment of this ideal, daring enough to also halt their education in a fight for free and decolonised education. Then President Jacob Zuma tried to calm the storms by reintroducing the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) as a bursary, removing its status as a loan scheme.
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Now I don't want to take away the efforts of the leadership of #FeesMustFall, but they applaud and still today applaud the move by Zuma. However, soon after their rise to fame in that struggle, these very same leaders became Members of Parliament, many of them serving at the behest of high-profile politicians. Many of them continue to have a seat at the table and drink tea with Blade Nzimande – the captain of a sinking ship. How is it that these revolutionary leaders cannot point out to their Ministers that this ideal of “free education” under the banner of NSFAS is an outright myth?
Since NSFAS has become a bursary scheme, it has lost its trajectory. You would have thought that students, especially those who are poor and most vulnerable, would now have better and increased access to higher education for “free," but that is not the case. Although NSFAS boasts about the number of students they are assisting, they are not being honest about the access they are providing to their beneficiaries. The access is still not free.
Protests continue, despite assurances
If education was "free”, why is it that NSFAS is not covering the full fees and accommodation costs as it alleges? If education was "free", then why did students at the University of the Witwatersrand and the Cape Peninsula University of Technology protest this year over student debt, finances, accommodation and the discontinuation of funding by NSFAS? Why is it that just last month, while Nzimande made his budget speech, a group of student leaders from universities across the country protested at the doorstep of NSFAS over various issues, including covering student debt in instances where NSFAS has failed to pay for fees and accommodation fully?
During his budget speech, Nzimande refused to recognise the challenges of NSFAS, arguing that "NSFAS students are happy and excited", which clearly shows that the Minister is out of touch with reality and has no comprehension of students' struggles on the ground.
He clearly has no idea or doesn't care about the fact that many students are left at a disadvantage due to his leadership, under which NSFAS has imposed caps on accommodation and inconsistent changes to the funding criteria.
It is for these reasons that the struggle for free education continues. Promises made before 1994 are yet to bear fruit for those who believed it and for those who could benefit from it today.
- William Sezoe is the Vice-Chairperson of the Students Representative Council at Stellenbosch University.
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