Student activists call on South African government to provide free education

Mass meeting of students on Jammie Plaza, University of Cape Town Upper Campus on 22 October 2015. Photo by Tony Carr (CC BY-NC 2.0)

Students in South Africa have successfully stopped a planned tuition hike of 11.5 per cent. Weeks of nationwide protest culminated in 10,000 person march on the Union Buildings, the seat of government, in Pretoria on Oct. 23.

With the protest heating up outside, President Jacob Zuma announced that fees would not go up in 2016.

In a statement, Shaerra Kalla, deputy president of  Wits University’s Student Representative Council, said that students were “not satisfied” with the outcome.

Kalla said that students are still waiting to hear from President Zuma about demands to end outsourcing of teaching staff, and a pledge for free education going forward.

Jatinder Maan, director of education for the Student Association of George Brown College which funds (The Dialog), called the series of protests, “a clear example of what students can do or achieve collectively.” Maan added, “I think the students in South Africa have given students all around the world a light of hope.”