The ANC has responded positively
DEAR SIR — The erstwhile deputy vice-chancellor of the University of the Witwatersrand and DA shadow higher education minister clearly skewed the facts to illustrate her poor understanding of the ANC and of higher education. She poses seven questions about the ANC; let me answer all of them.
Yes, the ANC believes in protest. What it rejects is violent protest, destruction of university property and criminal intimidation.
Yes, the ANC knows the country is not awash with money. The shadow minister knows that once the commitment to a no-fee increase was made, government reprioritised expenditure to meet this cost as did institutions of higher learning. We had expected Prof Belinda Bozzoli to urge those who can afford fees to pay them; she is silent on that one too.
The ANC government took the critical decision of ensuring investment in higher education, as well as investment in basic education.
This was a bold decision in that it has provided our country with talent and innovation. I meet hundreds of parents and young people who confirm that their achievements in higher education were only possible because the ANC government has invested over R60bn in the National Student Financial Aid Scheme since 1994 (R10bn added in 2016 alone).
The ANC government has responded positively to students’ demands as Minister Blade Nzimande’s announcement confirms. Yes, it is not fully free higher education yet, but it is a response we welcome. Yes, the ANC believes in university autonomy. However, our policies on higher education strike a positive balance between the absolute autonomy the DA favours and balanced autonomy preferred by our Constitution, which places an obligation on state institutions to pursue equality and visible redress of our past exclusion and injustices.
The DA fails to mention that Nzimande engaged in wide-ranging consultations and deliberations before he made his proposal that there should be a fee increase within defined parameters.
Yes, the ANC knows the state has responsibilities, but the state is not wholly responsible for higher education in our unequal post-apartheid SA; those of us with the means to pay our children’s fees must pay. The state cannot carry responsibility for the poor, the missing middle and the rich and extremely rich.
It is not clear what is meant by a rapid solution to the fee crisis. The ANC wants the fee commission to do a thorough job and make proposals that South Africans can consider.
No, the ANC does not want universities to close, but if it is closure versus the burning down of a law library, we believe public assets must be protected. Closure and delays in the academic programme serves no one’s interests; similarly violence and arson advance thuggery and detract from a good cause.
The ANC will continue to fund higher education and work hard to implement strategies to grow our economy, so that increased resources can be provided to all levels of post-school education in SA.