“A simple vote, without food, shelter and health care is to use first generation rights as a smokescreen to obscure the deep underlying forces which dehumanise people. It is to create an appearance of equality and justice, while by implication socio-economic inequality is entrenched.
“We do not want freedom without bread, nor do we want bread without freedom. We must provide for all the fundamental rights and freedoms associated with a democratic society.”
As we mark yet another year celebrating the iconic life and times of Nelson Mandela, let us reflect on what he said a year after he was released from captivity.
Let us do so because this message is even more relevant today - especially to a majority of students at South African tertiary institutions, many of whom are hungry for more than just knowledge. What use is an education on an empty stomach? And how does one guarantee a full stomach in the future without an education? The two are not mutually exclusive.
Post-1994, there was a considerable drive to improve access to tertiary education, and this led to a spike in the enrolment of poor students at universities across the nation - many of which were exclusively white enclaves. Several black students - the first in their families to pursue higher education - entered campus gates with their hopes, dreams, aspirations and little else.
Although a large percentage of these students were bursary holders, it mainly covered their tuition and accommodation fees. In most cases, unrealistic and insufficient amounts were awarded for subsistence. No one asked, until very recently, how will they survive? How will they eat?
Food insecurity at tertiary institutions has remained one of those “silent yet pervasive” problems in our country.
There has been limited research on this issue - not only in South Africa, but around the world. In 2011, Australian researchers aptly described it as “The skeleton in the university closet”. In the last few years, however, a number of studies have been conducted, and this has encouraged robust discourse around student food insecurity at tertiary institutions.
Many reasons have been suggested as to why these discussions are only just emerging - even in developed countries. One cause, which seems to have accounted for this, is the erstwhile assumption that the pursuit of higher education is an elitist quest. Hence, persons pursuing higher education have the minimum needs - food, shelter and clothing.
In many developed countries this assertion may hold true for some. In the last few years there have been sporadic, yet commendable responses by some university administrators, student-driven organisations, and other stakeholders - such as alumni groups and private organisations - to curb hunger on campuses.
For instance, the University of the Western Cape started a food bank in 2016 in conjunction with Tiger Brands. Staff distribute dry produce food packs to a number of identified food-insecure, residence-based and commuting students.
WITS Inala, a student-driven organisation, teaches students how to grow their own vegetables on campus. Many other innovative models nationwide continue to be developed to address this issue.
As commendable as these initiatives are, the current models can be described as palliative responses to deep rooted systemic issues, and for various reasons do not sufficiently address the root causes of the problem.
Firstly, leaving the issue to be tackled solely by financially-strapped universities alone may not be the solution - either in the long run or short term. Secondly, although some argue that this is one of the appropriate spaces for the private sector to intervene in, especially as they are the end beneficiaries of the majority of graduates, it is important to bear in mind that the private sector is primarily profit-driven.
It may be difficult to plead a business case for the private sector to take responsibility. Lastly, from a student-centric perspective, probing the issues of food insecurity and the nuanced conversations around this issue also requires the right framing.
Issues around the shame of hunger continue to persist - understandably so. Many undergraduates are at a critical point in their development, where peer opinion matters.
They remain reluctant to be identified as the “hungry, needy one”, especially since they could be perceived as “charity cases”.
Furthermore, with reported incidences of transactional sex for food on campuses, this is potentially a public health concern. The rights-based framing in this instance involves de-stigmatisation through a top-bottom approach, by which students see themselves as rights bearers of whatever aid comes their way to address their food security needs.
Research has shown educational attainment to be an important factor in upward social mobility and breaking the cycle of poverty. It thus becomes imperative that the issue be tackled on a national scale and through a co-ordinated framework.
There is an urgent need for a high-level response from national government, in conjunction with the relevant stakeholders.
Former United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan once said: “A hungry mind is not free if we were really going to make a difference and fight poverty we should at least start with the ability to feed ourselves, and the millions of Africans who don’t have it.” May I rephrase this to state If we are really going to make a difference and fight poverty, we should at least start with the ability to feed our students.
In line with this, the Socio-Economic Rights Project (SERP) of the Dullah Omar Institute is holding a national two-day colloquium on Access to Food for Students in South African Tertiary Institutions on August 14 and 15, 2018, at the Protea Sea Point Hotel in Cape Town.
The colloquium galvanises the advocacy process with a view to addressing systemic issues, as well as commencing the call for policy review on food security among students in South African higher institutions.
* Adeniyi is a doctoral researcher under the Socio-Economic Rights Project (SERP) at the Dullah Omar Institute, University of the Western Cape.