Economic inequities fuel unrest in South Africa
Protests bring its universities to a standstill
JOHANNESBURG — South African protesters lob rocks at security guards at one of the continent’s leading universities. Police fire rubber bullets at students on another campus. Vice chancellors warn that students might not be able to finish the academic year if a national dispute over financing higher education is not resolved soon.
Twenty-two years after the end of white minority rule, grievances over economic inequities are fueling unrest that has forced the closure of some of South Africa’s most prominent universities, which are struggling to cover costs. Opinion has splintered among students, faculty, parents and the government, which acknowledges funding shortfalls but accuses a radical minority of bringing campuses to a standstill.
One target of protesters’ condemnation is Adam Habib, vice chancellor of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, also known as Wits. Habib, in turn, has suggested it is ironic that Wits, whose student population is mostly black, could unravel because of protesters who say they are committed to “decolonization.”
He tweeted: “The tragedy of our moment.”
Demonstrations picked up after the government said universities can increase fees by up to 8 percent next year, although it will pay about $180 million to cover the costs of poor students in 2017.
Wits and the University of Cape Town hope to resume the academic pro- gram on Monday. Some students vehemently oppose that plan.
Once a student demand for free education is met, “we are willing to go back to class. I mean, we are here because we want to study and get degrees,” said Mzwanele Ntshwanti, a student leader at Wits who wore a jacket with an emblem of the Student Representative Council. “We’ve managed to disrupt the system because that’s the only language that they understand,” he said Friday.
There are expectations of more violence. Wits Vuvuzela, a university newspaper, advises students how to respond to stun grenades, rubber bullets and tear gas in a section titled: “What to expect from the police and how to stay safe.” Around the corner from the Great Hall is a piece of graffiti with instructions: “How to make a petrol bomb: a guide for students.”