BMF joins activists in fees battle

THE provincial Black Management Forum (BMF) has come out in support of the #FeesMustFall Movement and the call for free quality decolonised education.

In a statement, BMF said the South African constitution guarantees every citizen access to quality education and in a developing economy such as South Africa, a skilled workforce remains a crucial catalyst to economic growth and development.

Universities play an insurmountable role in developing the pool of skills required by the country, the BMF said.

Yesterday, BMF members joined thousands of students in a protest at the gates of Parliament.

“BMF Western Cape calls on professionals and experts within our midst to come to the fore with viable models that could be explored to realise the goal of students.

“We are also gravely concerned about the consequences to students, the economy and society at large if differences between students, the government and university management continue unabated to an extent that we can’t salvage the academic year,” BMF said in a statement.

“We have agreed with students that violence has no place in their protests,” the forum said.

BMF has also condemned the behaviour of public order policing in handling the protests, calling their methods, “ruthless”.

BMF said the fight for free quality decolonised education was not only the fight of students, but a societal battle.