Universities won’t allow walk-ins because of a hatred of the poor

At the end of 2017, the EFF commanderin-chief Julius Malema’s new year message declared 2018 the year of free education. He called on all who have passed matric “extremely well” to report at the universities of their choice and take advantage of free education. Universities South Africa and many other public voices called this message reckless and populist.

It has become standard myopia for those who differ with the EFF to call us populist. When we say things they desire — like Zuma must fall — it’s not populism, but constitutional brilliance. So let’s leave claims of populism to the birds; they are made to distract us.

What is reckless in calling for students whose academic records have flying colours to report to universities of their choice and take advantage of free education? University authorities say this will lead to stampedes, chaos and death if there would be mere walk-ins at universities. Their solution is that students must apply online and only come to universities upon acceptance.

Before we respond to this, we must try to separate issues that have been confused. The first is that consideration of applications means they must all be ultimately given spaces. A discussion about consideration of late applications should not at the same time mean those applications will be given spaces. It just means that they should be considered for the limited spaces. To say universities have limited spaces, thus they cannot consider late applications, is irrelevant.

Consideration of late applications just means there is more talent that has been denied a chance because of financial constraints which must now be considered following the declaration of free education. We know for sure that even if universities can stretch their resources, they will still have limited spaces, but this is separate from the number of applications that can be considered.

The second issue that we must resist confusing with the consideration of applications is where will the money come from to fund free education. Zuma has declared that it is there and that free education must be implemented. It is him, and not the applicants, who must answer the question. One cannot use this question to close the consideration of late applications of all who want to take advantage of the call. This is also not an excuse to say you have no capability to deal with late applications, now dubbed as walk-ins.

So what is really at stake about refusing to deal with late applications? The managers of universities say it is going to cause chaos and stampedes and this makes them resist the call by Malema, nothing else. It is noteworthy that this refusal is also limited to only universities.

We are therefore left to ask a simple question: why are technical vocational education and training colleges able, and even expected, to deal with walk-ins when universities are not?

That TVETs can and do deal with walk-ins is accepted. So why can’t universities? The reality is that you do not experience stampedes or chaos at TVET colleges despite the fact that there are walk-ins. TVET colleges are not in denial about the conditions of many young South Africans who have no access to the internet. The colleges prepare or put plans in place to manage walk-ins. Why is society prepared to accept that universities can’t deal with walk-ins when junior institutions like colleges do so annually?

Perhaps we have to consider that it is not that universities can’t deal with walk-ins, they simply will not. They do not want to deal with walk-ins. No one says this must be a norm.

Malema’s call follows an exceptional circumstance of a late declaration by Zuma that there will be free education starting in 2018. If we accept that such a call mostly affects those individuals who had given up hope of applying due to lack of funds, then consideration of late applications is meant precisely to accommodate this group, surely?

The call by the EFF is for doors of learning to be open to all who want to take advantage of the free education declaration. We are calling on universities not to blame potential students who are poor for late applications, but to do as TVET colleges do and to consider late applications of poor students.

The only reason there will be chaos is because of the negative attitude of university managers. If plans are put in place, administratively and otherwise, to consider all late applications due to the free education offer, then there will not be chaos and stampedes. This will only occur, as in the case of the University of Johannesburg in the past, if plans are not in place to ensure that late applications are considered.

Society must not accept false and disingenuous reasoning by university managers whose refusal is grounded not on actual capability to consider late applications, but on a negative, unfounded attitude to free education. Imagine how fast it was for them to put measures in place to suppress the #FeesMustFall protests. On the spot and without much warning, vice-chancellors knew what to do to manage scores of angry students. Yet they refuse, even for a minute, to allow people to fill out an application.

It is the iron-fist approach of university managements that collapses institutions into chaos. They are unable to subject their bourgeois and elite beliefs to radical scrutiny. They fear a fee-free university because, somehow, when things are free and open to the poor, they assume they will not have prestige. In essence, they suffer from crass aporophobia.