In conclusion, the Fees Must Fall movement in South Africa was a powerful student-led protest that highlighted the importance of accessible and affordable education. The movement emerged in response to the rising costs of higher education, particularly affecting black and marginalized students. Through the lens of race and the impact on students, we gain insights into the significance of the movement and its effects on higher education policies. By analyzing the causes, history, and social theories surrounding the movement, we can better understand the challenges faced by students and the structural inequalities within the education system.
The interviews with former activist Nonkululeko Mahlangu shed light on the dedication and resilience of students in the Fees Must Fall movement. Despite facing challenges and obstacles, the movement was successful in achieving some of its goals, such as freezing tuition fee increases and increasing awareness about the importance of accessible education. However, ongoing challenges remain, including sustaining momentum, addressing divisions within the movement, and ensuring long-term systemic change.
Overall, the Fees Must Fall movement serves as a reminder of the power of student activism and the need for equitable access to education. Through continued advocacy and mobilization, the movement has the potential to create lasting change in higher education policies and promote social justice in South Africa.
Introduction.
The Fees Must Fall movement emerged in South Africa during mid-October 2015 as a powerful student protest. This movement was a response to the proposed tuition fee increases for the following year. Students across the country united under the umbrella term “Fees Must Fall” to express their frustration and demand change. The protests were widespread and aimed at tertiary education institutions, urging them to address the rising costs of education. My thesis explores the views and perceptions of participants in the #FeesMustFall movement. Specifically, I focus on two key aspects: the role of race within the movement and the impact of protests on students. By analyzing these dimensions, we gain insights into the movement’s significance and its effects on higher education in South Africa. In the discussion of this research, we will delve in the in the history of the fees must fall movement, the causes of the movement and the two social theories we found to be the most applicable. Therefore we will go to the methods with questions that was used to compile the research, then I will analyse the solutions on how to social issue was resolved and can still be resolved as we still have the same issues today.
History of the fees must fall movement
The #FeesMustFall movement was a student-led protest movement that began in mid-October 2015 in South Africa. Its goals were to stop increases in student fees and increase government funding for universities. The movement started at the University of Witwatersrand and quickly spread to other universities across the country. Although initially enjoying significant public support, the protests lost public sympathy when they turned violent. The 2015 protest ended when the South African government announced no tuition fee increases for 2016. In 2016, protests resumed when the South African Minister of Higher Education announced capped fee increases for 2017, (Langa, 2017). The movement’s principle concern was access for poor, black students to affordable, quality education. Interestingly, it all began at the University of Cape Town, where students wanted to remove a statue of the arch-colonialist Cecil Rhodes, which they eventually succeeded in doing, (Pillay, 2016). The #FeesMustFall movement emerged as a powerful student-led protest in South Africa, aiming to halt tuition fee increases and secure greater government support for universities. Despite challenges and controversies, the movement left an indelible mark on higher education policies and highlighted deep-rooted social disparities.
The Fees must fall movement cause.
The #feesmustfall movement was caused by the high cost of higher education whereby black students and others could no pay, these high costs led to the decline of education and again show the prevailing of colonialism to the black students. The #feesmustfall movement was made for all the disadvantaged students by students. According to Pillay(2016), the fees must fall movement was not only caused by the high fees of higher education but was again caused by the territories that shown the colonialism still persists, like the university of Cape Town with the statue of Cecil John Rhodes who was the Western Cape’s colonialist. To add on it, even here at this University there was a statue representing the same colonial territory. The transformation had to be visible yet, we still know that the colonialism still exist in the systems of education and higher education.
The conflict perspective view.
According to the conflict perspective views the fees must fall movement as a struggle between the powerful and the powerless. The powerful are those who have the resources and an ability to pay the tuition fees and an access to higher education. The powerless are those who are excluded from the system and unable to access the higher education due to the high costs of tuition fees. Again, the conflict perspective views the fees must fall movement as the struggle between those who have power and those who do not. By this, meaning that those who have power are those who are benefiting from the current system, such as the universities, government officials, and wealthy individuals. The powerless are those who are excluded from the system as said, such as the students that derive from the low-income families and those from marginalized communities.
A structural perspective.
From a structural perspective, the Fees Must Fall movement is a struggle between the structural forces of the economy and the individual needs of students. The structural forces of the economy are those that shape the cost of tuition fees and access to higher education. These forces include the government, universities, and the market. The individual needs of students are those that are not met by the current system, such as the need for affordable tuition fees and access to higher education. The structural perspective views the Fees Must Fall movement as a struggle between the structural forces of the economy and the individual needs of students. The structural forces of the economy are those that shape the cost of tuition fees and access to higher education. The individual needs of students are those that are not met by the current system, such as the need for affordable tuition fees and access to higher education.
The biography of the former fees must fall activist, Nonkululeko Mahlangu.
Nonkululeko was born in 1992 in KwaMhlanga, Mpumalanga. She was a born leader even during her school days. She used to encourage her class mates to always be creative and engage in community activities including volunteering in cleaning the environment. She was always the first one to arrive when there is a crisis involving her friends, family or the community. Nonkululeko's commitment to the cause is driven by her own experiences as a student facing financial challenges. She understands the impact that high fees have on students' ability to pursue education and believes in the importance of social justice. Within the movement, Nonkululeko plays a crucial role as a mobilizer and organizer, encouraging fellow students to participate in protests and building solidarity among students from different backgrounds.
Despite facing challenges such as police brutality during protests, Nonkululeko has remained dedicated to the #FeesMustFall movement throughout her university years. The movement has achieved significant milestones, including freezing tuition fee increases for specific years and increasing awareness about the importance of accessible education. However, challenges remain, including maintaining momentum, addressing divisions within the movement, and sustaining public support. The long-term goals of the #FeesMustFall movement include advocating for free tertiary education, addressing systemic issues in the education system, and ensuring that education is accessible to all. Nonkululeko draws inspiration from the resilience of her fellow students and remains committed to the cause, envisioning a future where education is a right, not a privilege.
In summary, Nonkululeko Mahlangu exemplifies the spirit of activism within the #FeesMustFall movement, advocating for affordable education and social transformation in South Africa. Her dedication serves as an inspiration for others to join the cause and work towards a more just and accessible educational system.
Methods
On the way of making the interview, we were trapped by the distance we had and the errands we had to run. We ended up using face time to get in contact to make sure that we get a clear understanding with each other. We had close to two hours of face time, but duties always call on those who have to get them done. With the small amount of time I had to make sure that I draft sociological question because she used to study Sociology and Anthropology, and this meant that she knew more on the history and the course that I do. I decided to go a mile with the theories that we do in the Sociology module to gather to help me understand better of the fees must fall movement. The interview was recorded on Microsoft teams and some other important points were written on a note book for easier access. The interview was productive and the engagement was appealing to the point where the mutual understanding was all over the place. Bellow, are the main questions pertaining the interview:
• How did the movement emerge and how was the mobilization made or what source of media was used to recruit to mobilize the students.
• What was the main demand of the movement and how did the government respond to the demands that were made.
• What did the role of student leadership play and how was the movement intersected by the other parties.
Data analysis: Solutions to the movement.
The movement was heard by the government and though a lot of students were hurt during the participation of the fees must fall movement social issue, since the universities retaliated by being shot at and others were arrested and the movement lost control which became more concerning, (Booysen, 2016). Students started breaking properties that costed the government a lot of money and seeing that the government was taken out of its bed sheets. Nonkululeko quoted “grass is not always greener in summer and dead grass is always awoken by setting it ablaze”, meaning that the government saw that it was bad. The students did not do anything bad in movement but were peaceful, until the police started fighting them, so they acted on self-defense. Self-defense according to Ramose (1999), it is a natural factor to defend one’s self away from any harm. The awaking of the black consciousness in the fees must fall movement changed everything in the higher education conscious because back then the tertiaries were dominated by white students, this according to Langa (2017), Jacob Zuma went out to present his speech upon the fees must fall whereby he froze all the rising prices of the higher education.
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