At the beginning of the academic year, unrest is a common occurrence at South African universities and this year is no exception.
The reasons for the unrest are nothing new either: universities’ inability to meet the immense demand, and NSFAS issues relating to the payment of class fees and accommodation grants.
Classes were disrupted at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein and QwaQwa as well as at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Gqberha. The Cape Peninsula University of Technology in Cape Town saw protests relating to housing.
One cannot help but wonder whether the unrest will spread.
The truth of the matter is that the ANC government has been making impossible promises since the “Fees must fall” unrest in 2016. Without doing anything to drastically expand universities’ capacity to enrol more students, they promised free higher education for the working class and poor.
The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) was forced to transform overnight from a relatively small manager of loans to an administrator of hundreds of thousands of loans paid out regularly and accurately to cover class fees, housing and pocket money. All while the organisation was not given any time to adjust its systems and staff.
On top of that, government also promised that there would be bursaries for all applicants who qualify.
With around three hundred thousand matriculants who passed with Bachelor’s admission, there are simply not enough seats or beds at South African universities.
Individual institutions are managing the volatile situation by accepting online applications only, so frustrated students do not gather at their gates.
This situation essentially means that the actual mark for university admission is higher than the official threshold as universities are accepting only the cream of the crop.
The bar is even higher for white students because universities have to adhere to racial quotas according to the statutory quotas for transformation.
Afrikaans students should look to private Afrikaans institutions to obtain recognised qualifications under peaceful conditions and without discrimination.
After all, studying is a comprehensive educational experience and not just the acquisition of theoretical knowledge.
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