Publications
Partners
By Norman Keith
Plenty has been written and reported regarding #FeesMust Fall and the resulting actions of both students and university administrative bodies. I do not intend to debate the methods used by either the protesting students or for that matter the Vice Chancellors but rather look at the justification for the actions and who ultimately should be held responsible for the situation that now exists. I do not condone, and sure, most do not, condone the malicious destruction of property or the use of force to suppress protest. In assessing the right to free higher education I went back to the Freedom Charter as enunciated at Kliptown in 1955 as well as the Constitution of 1996. The relevant extracts are details below to allow you to make your own interpretation and see if you agree with my assessment.
In terms of both the Freedom Charter and the Constitution the overall theme is to access to higher education rather than free higher education. My reading is that in terms of these two references the contention of a right to free higher education does not have its roots in the Freedom Charter or for that matter a right enshrined in the Constitution. Any claims in this regard is not merely a misinterpretation but rather claiming a right that was not contemplated. Attempts are currently being made to encompass the interpretation of equality in the arguments but my view is that these are tenuous at best.
There has however been an expectation created by the ANC going back to their Polokwane conference in 2007 and again recorded in the 2012 Conference resolutions at Manguang. Extracts from the Policy document and the resolutions passed in 2012 are detailed below to allow the reader to form their own opinion. From the 2012 resolutions it is evident that free higher education continued to be a goal of the ANC Government. In visiting the NSFAS website and reviewing the policies it is evident that progress has undoubtedly been made in this regard. Qualifying students can based on results claim for 40% of their fees in the first two years of their studies and 100% in their qualifying final graduation year. Whether this occurs effectively within the bureaucracy is a matter of debate. The remaining 60% for year one and two need to be repaid according to the earnings capacity of the student when they commence employment. Allowance appears to be made for accommodation or food during the student study years. I do not intend to debate the adequacy of the NSFAS amounts to meet the actual cost that students incur.
Protesting students appear to feel inter alia that adequate progress has not been made and that from promises made, the Government has had ten years to make good. One can sympathise with their point of view and an ANC Government that is only now starting to establish commissions following strong reactions from disgruntled students is rightly viewed with suspicion and a lack of credibility. Protesting students targeting Vice Chancellors Habib and Price et al is akin to shooting the messengers. Students would be better served marching on Luthuli House and calling on Minister Blade to, for once, start earning his salary and fat cat allowances. Attempts to shift this responsibility to the VCs and university administration smacks of dodging responsibility and accountability.
Ten years is by any standards a long time to wait for delivery on what was promised and protestors have a case. Maybe we should listen to the kids for the change and as history has proved so many times in past protests initiated by students can be right. In creating an expectation and no doubt gaining a few votes it is now time for the ANC Government to deliver or be held responsible for the consequences. In allegedly negotiating in bad faith and continually moving the goalposts are the protestors not merely playing the Government at their own game?
FREEDOM CHARTER – CONGRESS OF THE PEOPLE – KLIPTOWN JUNE 1955
Education shall be free, compulsory, universal and equal for all children;
Higher education and technical training shall be opened to all by means of state allowances and scholarships awarded on the basis of merit;
Adult illiteracy shall be ended by a mass state education plan;
CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA1996 CHAPTER 2 BILL OF RIGHTS
29. Education
1. Everyone has the right
a. to a basic education, including adult basic education; and
b. to further education, which the state, through reasonable measures, must make progressively available and accessible.
2. Everyone has the right to receive education in the official language or languages of their choice in public educational institutions where that education is reasonably practicable. In order to ensure the effective access to, and implementation of, this right, the state must consider all reasonable educational alternatives, including single medium institutions, taking into account
a. equity;
b. practicability; and
c. the need to redress the results of past racially discriminatory laws and practices.
3. Everyone has the right to establish and maintain, at their own expense, independent educational institutions that
a. do not discriminate on the basis of race;
b. are registered with the state; and
c. maintain standards that are not inferior to standards at comparable public educational institutions.
4. Subsection (3) does not preclude state subsidies for independent educational institutions.
ANC POLICY DOCUMENT – EDUCATION AND HEALTH – JUNE 2012
Reports on the implementation of policy and specific projects or programs:
• In extending the provision of free education, the NSFAS assistance has been made available to all FET students as well as final year university undergraduates who qualified for NSFAS. Final year of undergraduate students will receive a NSFAS grant equal to the full cost of study and are being incentivized by having their total loan for the final year converted into a bursary i f they complete their studies and graduate in the same year. A Ministerial Task Team will submit a report by June 2012 with recommendations on the extension of free education to cover students in other years of study. This will include estimates of the total cost of rolling out free education plus options for effective rollout.
• Post-graduate students are being supported financially through NSFAS in order to develop a new generation of academics..
EXTRACT ANC 53 NATIONAL CONFERENCE RESOLUTIONS - MANGUANG DECEMBER 2012
HIGHER EDUCATION
Implementing free higher education for the poor inSouth Africa
Noting that:
¦ Significant strides have been made in finalizing the policy on free higher education to all undergraduate level students from for the poor and working class communities for phased implementation from 2014.
¦ A draft policy on Free Higher Education has been completed has been completed, and the broad consultative process, including the social, economic analysis and impact and consultation with Treasury will ensue.
Therefore resolves that:
¦ The policy for free higher education to all undergraduate level students will be finalized for adoption before the end of 2013.
The National Student Financial Aid Scheme
Noting that:
¦ University education is costly.
¦ The principle of increased access to highereducation is a core transformation goal.
¦ Academically capable students from poor families should not be expected to pay up-front fees in order to access higher education.
¦ Academically capable students from working class and lower middle class families should also be subsidised with their families providing a household contribution to their studies in proportion to their ability to pay.
¦ The fees that must be covered include tuition, accommodation, food, books, other essential study materials or learning resources and travel that is the full cost of study fees.
¦ The upfront fees that are provided and enable fee-free university education for the poor and subsidised fees for the working class and lower middle strata, should be made available as loans through a strengthened NSFAS system. Part of the loan should be converted to a bursary for successful students.
Therefore resolves that
¦ A newly structured national student financial aid system must be introduced to enable fee-free education from 2014 onwards.
¦ A policy dialogue model must be utilised to develop a fully-fledged costing model.
¦ The current NSFAS must be used as a basis for introducing the newly structured scheme.
¦ Consideration must be given to a graduate tax for all graduates from higher education institution.
Community service for graduates from higher education institutions
Noting that:
¦ There is currently no national youth orgraduate community service scheme in South Africa, which covers all youth and/or graduates.
¦ The only comparable national programme for graduates is the community service requirement that graduates in a variety of health science programmes have to fulfil.
75 Therefore resolve that:
¦ Community service is in principle required from all students who are funded from the fiscus, government bursaries and/ or loan schemes with the need to leverage employment and internship opportunities in the public service for different professional fields; and
¦ Impact studies must be commissioned to inform a policy on Community Service for Higher Education Graduates, initially targeting professional fields linked to national human resource development priorities and progressing to a community service scheme for all higher education graduates.
