A ROW OVER student fees in South Africa has escalated in recent weeks to see riot police being called in to deal with on-campus protests.
It culminated yesterday in students gathering outside parliament as the finance minister delivered a speech on the country’s economy – with police firing stun grenades into the groups of protesters.
Last year, students protested over the cost of university education in South Africa – and President Jacob Zuma announced that fees would not be increased in 2016, as CNN reports.
But the government later announced that fees will jump in 2017 (with an 8% cap), leading to a fresh wave of protests.
Many of the protests are centred at Wits University in Johannesburg, where riot police have been used to disperse protesters gathered on campus.
Students have been tweeting from the scene over the last month:
Protests were also reported at other universities.
On 4 October, protesters attacked police vehicles with rocks, the Guardian reported. It said that rubber bullets, stun grenades and tear gas were all used by police at the scene.
At least two people were arrested that day.
Much of the ‘#feesmustfall’ unrest is over the impact that fees could have on black students and those from lower-income backgrounds in particular, with people highlighting the continued inequalities in the country.
As noted by Dr Nuraan Davids and Distinguished Professor Yusef Waghid – both of Stellenbosch University - on The Conversation:
Protests at South Africa’s universities didn’t suddenly start in 2015 with the “fees must fall” movement. Students at poorer institutions that cater almost exclusively for black students such as the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Fort Hare University and the Tshwane University of Technology have been protesting routinely against rising fees and the cost of higher education since 1994.
Yesterday, Wits University reported that there had been no incidents on campus – two days previously, a bus was set on fire off campus and a number of incidents occurred on campus.
It has offered counselling to any students affected by the incidents.
On 19 October, Wits said that it was “committed to peaceful negotiations to find solutions”, but said that the issues can only be resolved at national level.
We remain committed to completing the 2016 academic year while at the same time trying to address issues related to the funding and transformation of the higher education sector. We will continue to protect the University community to ensure that staff, students and our infrastructure are safe and that the academic programme continues.
Economic outlook
Yesterday, Minister Pravin Gordhan cut the 2016 growth forecast sharply from 0.9% to 0.5% as South Africa struggles with political uncertainty, violent university protests and high unemployment.
Gordhan used his mid-term budget speech to pledge more money for universities.
But he also delivered grim news over the economy, as South Africa faces the prospect of a damaging ratings downgrade to junk status later this year.
“Our economic growth will be just 0.5 this year, rising to 1.7% in 2017,” Gordhan told parliament in Cape Town.
It is not just that our economic outlook is distressed, and there is the possibility of downgrades in credit ratings.
Much more disturbing, and more difficult, is the rise in our own communities of anger and discontent, spilling over into violence and destructive protests.
Gordhan is at the centre of a political power struggle after vowing to cut down on government corruption and excessive spending, leading him to clash with loyalists of President Jacob Zuma.
Next week Gordhan, who enjoys wide-ranging popular support in South Africa, is due in court on corruption charges that he has said are a politically-motivated attempt to oust him.
Campus unrest
As riot police fought with about 2,000 protesters outside the national assembly building, Gordhan announced an extra 17 billion rand ($1.2 billion) of funding for university students.
“Many students face financial hardships that undermine their ability to succeed academically,” Gordhan said.
We will do everything that is possible to regain normality on our campuses. We want the violence to stop.
Ahead of his court appearance, Gordhan’s cause has attracted backing from Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, some ministers and scores of business leaders.
Zuma said that he had not acted to stop the prosecution because interfering would drive the country “closer to a banana republic”.
Gordhan has led efforts to avoid a rating downgrade by controlling spending, reforming loss-making state companies and tackling rampant corruption.
“Public funds must not be diverted to private ends,” he said yesterday. “All citizens are entitled to demand accountability and integrity from those who serve them.”
Zuma has been embroiled in a series of graft scandals while in office and has faced increasingly vocal calls from within the ruling ANC party to step down before his term ends in 2019.
- With additional reporting from © AFP 2016
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