Achieving political desire diminishes the joy of attaining fee-free education
Consternation derives from manner and timing of the announcement
Having free higher education for children of the poor and working class should be an achievement for any society.
The announcement of the attainment of that position in our country by the president late last year should have elicited celebrations by all our citizens.
But, instead, we have bafflement and confusion in many sectors of society, including those of us who are firm believers in free education for the children of the poor and working class.
Many of us have long been extolling the virtues of education as one of the most potent weapons we could use to right the wrongs of our past.
We would not be able to effectively fight poverty, inequality and unemployment without educating as many of our young people as possible. Indeed, education is a great leveller.
Education would give more of our youngsters skills to contribute to the economy, make them more employable and, therefore, salary earners. They would contribute to the growth of our gross domestic product and tax base, making us, as a nation, richer than if our young remained unemployable.
Educated young people would not join the queues for social grants and RDP houses, as they would be able to build, buy or rent their own accommodation.
As children of educated parents are likely to be educated themselves, we would ensure that going forward, our population would be educated and skilled enough to change the fortunes of our society for the better. These are the intergenerational benefits of education.
The consternation derives from the manner and timing of the announcement. It was done at the beginning of the conference of the ANC, lending itself in the realm of political opportunism. Was it meant to advance the aspirations of a particular candidate or faction of the governing party or not?
By all accounts, various role players in higher education were either not consulted or not ready for it. It seems the Treasury, the most important element in this issue, either did not approve or did not know where the money to finance it would come from.
Remember, not so long ago, the Treasury had announced a R50-billion shortfall in revenue collection in the current fiscal year and projected even bigger deficits in years to come. Indications are that the Treasury is scrambling to find the money to pay for the fee-free tertiary education for the poor.
Due to the fact that the announcement was made just three weeks before tertiary institutions were to start the 2018 academic year and there were no details of the financial arrangements, these institutions are running helter-skelter to deal with a confusing set-up.
The chaos has caused snaking queues, in scorching heat in some cases, of our youth at the gates of tertiary institutions which have resulted in robberies, stampedes and injuries. All these were avoidable if only things were done properly.
Some of us are saddened and exasperated by the turn of events. Why do we so often do the right things the wrong way? Why does it appear as though, as a country, we eschew planning and execution of our tasks with effectiveness, efficiency, finesse and dignity?
One of the factors responsible for this tendency might have to do with a lack of self-respect and appreciation of the worth and dignity of others by those in authority. Because you don’t care for the dignity and worth of others, they are expendable. You can use them to advance your own political or economic agenda any way you like.
So, it doesn’t matter whether fee-free tertiary education is sustainable or not, institutions of higher learning are ready or not and whether our young stampede in long queues in scorching heat or not, your only concern is the achievement of your political and economic desires.