By Minister Blade Nzimande
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The tragic death of two female Vaal University of Technology (VUT) students at a private residence leased by the university, is a devastating reminder of the need for stronger measures to ensure the safety of students living on and off-campus.
Any violent death of a student is tragic and it becomes even more devastating when victims are attacked in places where they ought to be safe. We acknowledge the commitment of the university management to improve the campus security.
We also understand the anger from the students following the tragic deaths. Their concerns are registered. The Department of Higher Education has acknowledged the lack of sufficient and adequate on-campus housing in the post-school education and training sector. This shortage has resulted in the creation of significant health and safety risks for students.
Although government acknowledges the challenges and the right of students to voice their concerns, there can be no justification whatsoever for the students to be violent and destroy property during demonstrations. The rights of other students to attend classes and learn are being undermined when a minority disrupts classes, as seen at VUT.
Classes have also come to a halt at the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Westville Campus as students demand certain policy changes regarding bursaries and payment of outstanding fees. Vehicles have been torched and parts of the campus damaged during demonstrations.
Not so long ago, we saw similar scenes at the Tshwane University of Technology, where student protests turned violent, leading to a university bus being torched. Although all students have a right to air their views and concerns issues affecting them, government is worried about the use of violent protests to address genuine issues. Government is equally worried about loss of valuable time to learn and study. Our country requires skills to grow the enconomy and create jobs, so every minutes is precious.
Government continues to address the issue of post-school education funding for underprivileged students and for the 2015/16 financial year, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) budget as the Tertiary Education Fund of South Africa was increased to more than R4 billion for university study loans and more than R2 billion for technical and vocational training colleges.
Government is doing more to assist already. But this is not enough. That is why we appeal to the private sector to also assist by funding education and providing bursaries, learnerships and other support to the youth.
We appeal to students to work with us as we build inclusive higher education institutions we all want. We call on management in the universities to promptly respond to issues raised by the students and avoid unnecessary delays.
The National Development Plan makes it very clear that to address the tripple challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment we need to invest more in education and skills to grow the economy for it to create much-needed jobs. Therefore, we must all remain steadfast and focused on the task at hand to ensure that our country prospers and achieve our vision. We must all work together and take South Africa forward.
Blade Nzimande is Minister of Higher Education and Training
