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No going back, this is the year of Free-Education: Now or Never

The call for free quality education is not new and it is now long overdue for post-1994 students to reiterate the call of 1976 that underscores South Africa’s democratic breakthrough. The SACP has already positioned their struggle in the second radical phase of National Democratic Revolution (NDR) without free quality education.

Last year we mobilised students to Luthuli House, and Union Building our mobilisation has mushroomed with a consciousness of social change. This call for an abolition of tuition fees is not a rhetorical device but must serve to reassure everyone who qualifies, however, is marginalised and disadvantaged that they can also acquire education. This struggle might be colour-blind but it is class struggle.

Our projection of a transformative moral vision which drove the discourses of University and challenges the social norms which have entrenched by the apartheid government and cemented by the ANC government. The ANC is not deemed to have restored black people’s dignity: the looming of poverty, inequality and unemployment serve as the evidence of social dysfunctionality under Jacob Zuma’s presidency.

The call for free education is not only a plea by South African students- it can be viewed as emblematic- merely because in 1960s Germany was enforced to introduce a model of free education inclusive of Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Norway and France.

Decolonization of education

By decolonization, we mean the dismantling of colonial institutions and minimization of foreign control and power. By this, we mean the natives must reconfigure their land, religion, economy, values and education.

The point of departure is to acknowledge the fact that our education was colonially structured and provisioned by missionaries as a form of minimising native’s revolts. Therefore, it is important for our generation to call for a deconstruction of colonial education. Surely, the genealogy of colonial education was to sustain Africa’s backwardness by suppressing civilisation in order to abstract our natural mineral resources and disinherit our land.

The reality is that decolonization of education cannot occur over a night, it a call at the behest of commitment, and selfless leadership. This call requires revolutionaries with a conscience that is not susceptible to being absorbed by the system and the social upward mobility of a neo-liberalists capitalism.

Decolonization of education cannot be isolated from the economic decolonization in this country. The reality is that 2% of white families’ controls 87% of the land in South Africa. In other words, the struggle for decolonization of education cannot be separated from the tune of economic decolonization and that shall start by expropriation of land.

It is clear that marching toward the free education with colonial economic inheritance has no dignified future at all—for a black child. Decolonization of the economy must be defined in the premise of class struggle and class formation. As a result, the main feature of economic decolonization is by the nationalisation of major economic institutions, particularly banks, insurance businesses, foreign trade, mines, the large scale of agriculture and manufacturing enterprises. By virtue of nationalising strategic sector of the economy would dismantle the ruling class; the ruling ideas of white supremacy and oligarchy which according to Marxist lenses is a transformation of the base (economy) that will automatically alter the functionality of the superstructure (education). This is to say, decolonization of the schools’ curriculum and university curriculum will give a reflection on economic and industrialisation that will serve Africans.

The reality is that decolonization project cannot be isolated from knowledge production. Hence, we started by calling for a transformation of the universities, particularly in neo-liberal English universities such as Wits, Rhodes and UCT. Calling for free education without transformation is futile. Knowledge production and transformation goes together, the former must be supported by black lectures, promotion of black researchers, a hiring of the black female lectures and changing of primary and secondary school curriculum.

Free education now or never

By free education, we mean tuition-free institution or abolition of tuition fees and registration fee by 2017. I have pointed out several times that decolonization of education and free education are tied with ‘democratization of access’. By this, I mean despite social class and racial division free education must be accessible to everyone especially those in the rural areas, township and villages.

When we call for free education, in other words, we are calling for the wide opening of doors of learning to all South Africans. For this South African government must invest in education. Currently, our government only spends 0.6% of its GDP only on universities. This signals that there is no political will in the education system. By this, our government normalises states of dehumanisation and humiliation of black child by white supremacy.

Leadership and strategies of operation towards the free education

The struggle towards free education needs revolutionary leaders armed with ideological articulation. There is no revolutionary struggle that has ever won a battle against this system controlled by monopoly capitalists without an ideology, and decisive leadership.

It is the task of the revolutionary leaders to engage with a grand-narrative of theory to understand the system which we are fighting. The current insurgency of burning schools, library and University property show the lack of leadership with an embedment of theoretical perspective. It has been argued that the leaders of 1976 June 16 were incubators of black consciousness movement. Meaning that they were guided by the theoretical framework of Black consciousness.

At some point, we need to adopt 1975 by South African Students Movement (SASM) “three C’s” as part of strategic and tactic to an attachment of struggle towards free education. Three ‘C’ stand for Confrontation, Conscientization and Co-operation. By confrontation, we mean that students must be on ground mobilised and organised masses in order to confront the enemy which is Vice-councillors, National treasury, Minister of high education Blade Nzimande and President Jacob Zuma. The second ‘C’ Conscientization, the free education leaders must conscientize masses by an articulation of ideology and the last ‘C’ Co-operation mean that we need to co-operate with media apparatuses, religious leaders and Non-Government Organization.

Why is decisive leadership important? Because social revolution must be led by the revolutionary leaders which resonate with the material conditions of the revolution. Those who ought to lead-free education struggle must commit “class suicide.” By class suicide, I mean that leaders must sacrifice their class position, privileges, and power through identification with the masses that are victims of the system. However, we have to consider the fact that this depends on the power and material basis of revolutionary consciousness. Noting that there is no revolution can succeed without organisation, strategies and leadership.

Acknowledging the fact that South Africa Student Congress (SASCO) failed to decolonise or restore the dignity of a black child since 1991. This argument does not dismiss the case that SASCO had played a significant role in transforming the universities. But they have failed to lead a struggle for free education and serve as a surrogate of political upward mobility. Perhaps it is a time they dissolve its structures.

In closing, the ANC and black and white monopoly capitalists’ must deliver free education by 2017. It is clear that there is no political will in the people leading ANC. The colonial project is the task and responsibility of the students, black academic, government and society. We must defend our society from corruption and provide free education. I also plead with all students to not be despondent and give up on the struggle towards decolonization and free education. This is our land and we will restore black child’s dignity.

Ashley Nyiko Mabasa

Political Commissar of ANCYL Dr Mxolisi Majombozi Wits branch

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