Student movement not speaking with ‘one voice’ on fee increase protests amid shutdowns

‘We don’t want to fight against the increase in fees. We want to fight for free education’

JOHANNESBURG: Division among the student movement over fee increases might hamper the shutdown of university campuses.

Students had planned to shutdown campuses this week in protest against the proposed increase in university fees.

But so far it seems students are not speaking with one voice. While the 2016 FeesMustFall protests started as non-partisan, this year the EFF Student Command (EFFSC) has distanced itself from the latest planned protests.

The Student Command said the only fight it was willing to join is for free education and not the fight against fee increases, according to EFFSC national spokesperson Peter Keetse.

“We are very clear that we don’t want to fight against the increase in fees for next year.

“We want to fight for free education. If we fight for the no-fee increase, that means we will protest every year.

“We want to make sure that we win as many campuses as possible. We want to tell the students on the ground what is important for us.”

On Monday, the universities of Pretoria, KwaZulu-Natal’s Pietermaritzburg campus as well as Mangosuthu University of Technology closed their campus because of fee increase protests. Students at the University of Pretoria threatened to shut down the institution.

Yesterday, there was calm at university campuses after they deployed extra security.

Keetse said the latest protests, punted by the South African Union of Students (SAUS), among other organisations, was opportunistic.

“Where was SAUS last year? If we are part of any protest, it will be one led by us. We will not be part of a bogus arrangement.”

On Monday, Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande asked that there be no protests on campuses while he was consulting on the Council of Higher Education (CHE) report that had recommended that fees be increased for next year.

The CHE report recommends fees be increased for the 2017 academic year by at least 8 percent, to avoid universities being unable to meet their financial obligations.

The SACP yesterday demanded that fees not be increased for 2017. Ironically, Nzimande is the party’s general secretary.

Spokesperson Alex Mashilo said: “The SACP reaffirms its policy position for a progressive roll-out of free higher education and training for the historically disadvantaged, in particular students from working class and poor families who are not in a position to afford student fees. The state must intervene decisively.”