South Africa’s student protests have lessons for all universities

The protests in South Africa began in the north, at Tshwane University of Technology, early last year, when students were prevented from registering because of outstanding fee debts. This was exacerbated by the inability of the state loan and bursary agency – the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) – to meet its commitments. Confrontations spread to other campuses, taking different forms. Students at three universities in the south were next to act. At the University of Cape Town, students took issue with the legacy of colonialism, symbolised by the memorial to Cecil John Rhodes. Students at Stellenbosch distributed a powerfully evocative film – Luister (Listen) – that documented black students’ daily experiences of racism and discrimination. Students at the University of the Western Cape protested against levels of debt that would prevent them from graduating. Dissent crystallised into a national movement in October, when universities began to announce fee increases in excess of 10% for the 2016 academic year. The government, initially dismissive, was forced to impose a freeze on fee increases and find emergency funding to compensate universities for their loss of revenue. Following this compromise, the government has appointed a commission of inquiry into student funding that will report in October this year. The 2016 budget, tabled in parliament in late February, underwrote the extension of the freeze on fee increases for a further two years and included funding for NSFAS to meet its obligation to current students. But despite these measures, protests have escalated and are likely to continue. This is because they are rooted in difficult economic realities that cannot be resolved within the current model of student funding. Even if fees are frozen at 2015 levels for three years, a place at a public university is still unattainable for those from average South African families.