Pretoria – Newly-appointed Unisa Chancellor, former president Thabo Mbeki on Monday cautioned South African students, and the general populace, against the trend of violence which often accompanies genuine protests.
"We must express our appreciation and understanding of the actions taken by our students in the context of their #RhodesMustFall and #FeesMustFall campaigns, but without approving the completely unnecessary and counter-productive violence and destruction of university property which occurred during these campaigns," Mbeki said addressing delegates during his acceptance speech at Unisa's main campus in Pretoria.
"Needless to say, the students’ movement and our society as a whole must decisively turn their backs on the forms of protest rooted in the logic of cutting one's nose to spite one's face. As illustrated by a plethora of incidents, in which we burnt down clinics to demand better healthcare, or we destroy lecture rooms because we want free education or lay whole schools to ruin because we do not like a proposed municipal boundary."
Mbeki said he would not speak now regarding his views on the embattled higher education sector, pending the findings and recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry into Higher Education and Training chaired by Judge Jonathan Heher, which was appointed by President Jacob Zuma to probe the feasibility of the highly demanded fee-free education in South Africa.
Newly-appointed Unisa Chancellor, former President Thabo Mbeki with Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande at a media briefing at the campus in Pretoria. PHOTO: ANA
"I suspect that you, dear friends, suspect that I have important questions concerning the critical matter of higher education. You are correct in your belief. I do have a view about what are the objective and truthful response to these questions [about higher education] should be. I would like to plead your indulgence, to delay this response. This is because, as you know, currently sitting is the Commission of Inquiry into Higher Education and Training," he said.
"I trust that the report of the Commission will also alert us to the imperative to engage the whole nation in a serious discussion about the larger challenge of how we should structure our public expenditures, over the medium term at least."
The former head of state however said the public purse must be apportioned wisely, with societies making sacrifices for higher expenditure on education, and without losing the finance through the evils of "widespread corruption".
"I would again like to underline that it would be important to understand that inevitably such higher expenditure on education – as the [Heher] Commission might recommend – would necessarily mean the relative sacrifice of expenditure on other social and economic needs relating to the matter of public expenditures. It would therefore fall on our society as a whole to accept both outcomes," said Mbeki.
"I must also mention the absolute imperative our society faces – of successfully combating the serious malaise of the illegal and immoral diversion of significantly large quantities of public funds into private pockets through what is clearly widespread corruption."
Addressing journalists shortly after his inauguration, flanked by Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande and University of South African (Unisa) Principal and Vice Chancellor Mandla Makhanya, Mbeki emphasized that students must move from the approach of "throwing stones".
"On my was to this university I heard a story that some people want one of the buildings at Fort Hare [University] named after Mangaliso Robert Sobukwe, which I support. But why are they marching to the university? Why can't they just go and talk to the Vice Chancellor and say why not name this after Sobukwe? They decide to raise this issue by marching. It's not necessary," said Mbeki.
"To the students, let's all engage. The outcomes we want are the same, including making sure that education is affordable for everybody. It doesn't require to assume a confrontational position. Why do you throw a stone when the door is open?"