Press statement on the escalation of fees and the exploitation of workers in Wits
21 October 2015
The Young Communist League of South Africa [uFasimba] in the University of Witwatersrand supports the #FeesMustFall campaign by students against fee increase that is currently taking place at Wits and other universities across the country.
As the YCLSA in the campus we call upon both students and workers as led by Nehawu to vehemently fight the capital mind set of exclusionary soft-violence that appears to be financial but fundamentally violate the right to access the universities and undermine efforts to the strategic object of free education and class antagonism. The protest is about fee increment, it embodies tacitly or overtly the broader struggle of the working class.
The YCLSA encourages both students and workers to unite against the bullying tendencies by university management. Students are also stakeholders and their voice must be central in any decision that affects the operation of the universities.
In light of NSFAS problems and registration at the beginning of the current year the Wits management has succeeded to create an impasse by resorting to increasing fees exorbitantly. After the efforts by students to raise funds the management is still pre-occupied with inconsiderate actions of commodifying education making it difficult for students from working class background to have access to education.
It is not a secret that NSFAS is failing to address the plight of poor students and despite this predicament the Wits management thought it is wise to exacerbate this crisis by deciding on exorbitant fee increasing. Furthermore, the management has failed to assist the out-going SRC to add on “the One Million One Month campaign” to assist students that do not have funds to further their education.
The fee increment equally informs us that the exclusionary measures that we were faced with in the beginning of the year were not enough for management in fact their tacit modus operandi of the management is to deal with student via financial and academic exclusion.
It is sad to note that in spite of all the earlier Progressive Youth Alliance [PYA] led SRC’s noble efforts the management did not make any proactive initiative to assist students who do not have funds to further their studies. Nothing has been done by management to intensify the “One Million One Month campaign” and any action on the research on the impact of the NASFAS crisis to the working class child commissioned by management.
As the YCLSA in the campus we challenge the management to surpass the SRC to raise 88 million in 8 months that can be used to assist students from humble background instead of fee increments. This must find expression in their score cards and be linked with the management rewards performance management system.
We caution any leader and this includes Cde Mcebo Dlamini not to use the genuine concerns and project themselves to attack different institutions and different leaders but focus on the issues, the struggle of the working class and that of the black child. These issues are not the issues that are used for media parade and pop-star approach or entrism into political lime light that object pseudo- revolutionaries without proper and thorough ideological and political training.
Statement issued by the YCLSA Wits University Branch, 21 October 2015
