Posted inEqualityNews/Politics

University VCs experience the epiphany of the pointy stick

It has taken a relatively small band of petulant students to highlight the fragility of President Jacob Zuma’s African National Congress government. A protest that should have been contained and defused instead has been allowed to smoulder and grow. The wannabe revolutionaries of the Economic Freedom Front and radical activist organisations have been quick to […]

Posted inEqualityNews/Politics

If I was a student today…

I’m not a student, but I pay the university and residence fees for one and another one to come in a couple of years, so I know how much all that costs. As a self-employed professional in the top 1% of earners it is still a difficult burden. So I know the dynamics. I cannot […]

Posted inEqualityNews/Politics

Bravo students: ‘The doors of learning and culture shall be opened’

The ongoing student protests across the country confirm, unambiguously, the failure of the neoliberal system in South Africa, which requires a hefty increase in student fees every year, given the fact that universities are now part of the invidious neoliberal economic system, instead of being state-funded public institutions. And don’t tell me that it is […]

Posted inEqualityNews/Politics

#FeesMustFall shows ‘born-free’ generation anything but apathetic

Defiant. An apt word to describe students protesting against university tuition fees over the last month. From bringing institutions to a standstill, to engaging in several hour-long meetings, disgruntled students have been unwavering in their pursuit of what they see as a fairer financial system for universities. And it went up a notch yesterday when […]

Posted inEqualityNews/Politics

#FeesMustFall

Earlier on in the year when University of Cape Town students launched the #RhodesMustFall campaign, I was worried that students were focussing on the removal of statues when there were real issues that could lead to real change that needed to be tackled. I was concerned that while we were busy talking about old symbols […]