ANC backs protests over varsity fee

THE ANC has backed student protests against fee increases at universities, while some formations have blamed the government for the protests.

Although former Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said the protest “deserve unreserved unconditional support” from all South Africans, he blamed the protest on the government and said university vice-chancellors cannot solve the problem alone

“Twenty-one years since the advent of democracy, the chil- dren of the poor black majority are still trapped in inferior education, with inadequate infrastructure and human resources,” he said.

Vavi said the reasons for the protests “is that South African university funding has been declining... below the average of other African countries”.

The ANC said the call for fees to fall in higher education institutions in our country “is one that must be supported by all South Africans”.

“For far too long affordability has been a tool of exclusion, violating the rights of many, particularly black children, to education has enshrined in the Bill of Rights,” it stated.

Meanwhile, the office of the ANC’s Chief Whip in Parliament has condemned the reported acts of police brutality at University of Cape Town and University of Stellenbosch

AfriForum also added its voice, blaming the protests on lack of transformation.

”The violence and levels of intimidation at universities form part of a more serious symptom in the country, namely lawlessness, driven by the ANC’s transformation agenda,” Ian Cameron, AfriForum spokesman said.