South Africa’s problem is that its constitution is a perfect brochure of the nation it aspires to be. But the contractors entrusted with its future have an entirely different project in mind.
#FeesMustFall, and its demands for zero university fee increases, is in a second cycle of mass resistance in South Africa.
Mike Hutchings/Reuters
Some students argue wrongly that the ANC has betrayed the promise of free higher education made in the Freedom Charter. The governing party’s populism is also to blame for the confusion.
South Africa’s student protests are raising difficult issues, some of which are not being debated openly.
Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko
Demands being made by protesting students in South Africa purport to support the poor. But the most marginalised young people in the country will not benefit from free higher education.
South Africa’s finance minister Pravin Gordhan in a balancing game
Sumaya Hisham/Reuters
South Africa’s finance minister, Pravin Gordhan, had to battle poor growth and falling revenue in preparing the 2016 medium term budget. How did he do?
Thousands of students marched to parliament where South Africa’s finance minister presented his mid-term budget.
EPA/Nic Bothma
Finance minister Pravin Gordhan announced that government expenditure on higher education and specifically universities will be the fastest growing expenditure items on the budget.
A defiant student sits in the middle of a road after a crowd was dispersed during a protest over fees to parliament on the occasion of finance minister Pravin Gordhan presenting his medium-term budget.
Nic Bothma/EPA
South Africa’s 2016 medium term budget was awaited with bated breath amid rising political tensions, increasingly violent student protests and the threat of a credit downgrade.
There has been a great deal of research, planning and talking to come up with solutions to South Africa’s higher education funding crisis. Some of these plans must now be put into action.
University authorities in South Africa have agreed to most fees protesters’ demands. Yet, the protesters keep moving the goalposts. Do they want more than fees to fall?
The student movement in South Africa prides itself on being “leaderless”.
Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters
Student protesters have demonstrated good leadership in some spheres but come up short in other areas. This suggests that universities ought to focus more on how they teach leadership.
Peacekeepers can offer a channel of communication between police and protesters.
Mike Hutchings/Reuters
Peacekeeping is not easy. But for South Africa’s universities to begin working towards solutions, it is crucial that their communities give peace a chance.
Scenes like these may drive young people away from academic careers.
Kim Ludbrook/EPA
Many young academics and those who might be considering an academic career will be horrified by what’s unfolding at South Africa’s institution. Will bright minds be lost?
Critical dialogue could help South African universities get back on their feet.
Ian Barbour/Flickr
When students are genuinely listened to and understood, and their proposed solutions to problems are taken seriously, real change can happen in university faculties.
Economic models suggest that South Africa’s GDP would fall, inequality would deepen and unemployment would rise if university graduates don’t enter the labour market in 2017.
Many South Africans fear and mistrust the police.
Kim Ludbrook/EPA
Clashes between student protesters and armed security (whether public or private) compel South Africans to consider the role of use of force in the context of protests.
Chief Director: Tshwane University of Technology – Institute for Economic Research on Innovation; Node Head: DST/NRF SciSTIP CoE; and Professor Extraordinary: Stellenbosch University – Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology., Tshwane University of Technology