Pretoria - Not much thought was given to future implications when South Africa declared there would be 11 official languages, Professor Adam Habib said on Monday.
“It took 30 years to construct dedicated universities and millions of rand to elevate Afrikaans and make it a language of instruction at these institutions,” Habib said.
“All we did in 1994 was to declare the official languages and left it at that. How these languages were to be introduced into the system was not discussed, nor planned for.
“It was clear that English and Afrikaans would survive, but the idea of how any of the other official languages would gain due recognition was left to die.”
The Wits University principal was addressing the 5th Unisa Research and Innovation Week alongside Rhodes University vice-chancellor Dr Sizwe Mabizela and student leaders. They all painted a picture of a higher education system that was facing a crisis.
The past week saw unprecedented protests on campuses, with academic activities coming to a halt at the University of Pretoria over a language policy review, and the University of North West being indefinitely shut down following campus violence in Mahikeng.
Mabizela sounded a grim warning on the protests. “It won’t be long before a parent is called to fetch a child from a university in a body bag,” he said.
He said the protests were about more than just #FeesMustFall and #AfrikaansMustFall; they reflected societal issues. “That is what needs to be dealt with, and if the protests are allowed to continue unattended, the situation will only become worse.”
The innovation week opener also touched on student funding, with Mabizela saying a lack of adequate post-school programmes was a barrier to free education in the country.
He said university entrance had been “massified”, with all pupils in matric working towards going to university. “Some countries control their entrance to university with stringent tests to narrow down eligibility and accessibility. This lowers the number of those who make it to university, making fees more affordable to the state.”
Mabizela said a lack of options for post-matric life geared students towards studying for university.
“There is a segment in the #FeesMustFall movement that says higher education must be free. We have a number of challenges facing our society. Free education for all is not something that is achievable in the short and medium term. We need to ask: how we can address social justice?”
Mabizela said it was achieved by ensuring those less privileged had access to opportunities.
“When you treat people the same when they are different, it is committing an injustice.
“I cannot for the life of me accept that a child of a mine worker has to be treated the same as of the owner. The mine owner’s child can afford to pay, and must pay.”
He also cautioned against blindly offering free higher education to everyone.
Mabizela said how the country dealt with the issue would impact on the future of higher education.
“If we fail to act adequately, there is a danger our higher education may be harmed irreparably. Our democracy is at a crossroad and how we act will shape society.”
Habib proposed a model where the rich paid for themselves, middle-class got loans from banks, and the poor funded through an education tax.
He referred to the widespread protests regarding the fees last year, after which President Jacob Zuma said the 2016 academic year fees would not be increased.
“The question is where do we go from here. We made a decision and announced a zero percent increase,” said Habib.
Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, in the Budget speech last week, announced a R16 billion allocation for higher education over three years, R5.7billion of it on fees.
“This is a three-year hit for universities that would cost over a billion rand; how do you absorb a billion rand?”
Habib said another important issue was the fact that there had been no talk from universities or the Department of Higher Education and Training on next year’s fee structure.
“We also haven’t figured out what happens to the 2017 increase. Do you think we can say 0% increase in 2016 and then have a 10% increase in 2017?” Habib said.
Former Wits student leader Shaeera Kalla agreed the conversation needed to move to the future. “The #FeesMustFall had the most impact on young people since 1976. However, the struggle is not over,” she said.
“The 0% was the treating of symptoms, not the issue. What is going to happen when fees are increased again?”
EFF Student Command leader at Unisa, Mpho Morolane, said there were ways to raise funds and ensure free education for all.
“We’ve stated there should be education tax; individuals must be taxed at a minimum 2% of their income and corporations at 5% of their revenue.”
Morolane said money to pay the fees could be raised by nationalising mines, banks and other sectors of the economy.
Pretoria News