Equality in access to education is critical to the socio-economic transformation of our country and a cornerstone of the South African constitution. Yet, since the dawn of democracy, our government has consistently presented budgets that slash funding for schools and universities.
It is for this reason that students took to the streets under the banner of #FEESMUSTFALL in 2016 to hold our government accountable for the provision of free higher education. Some reforms were enacted as a result of this 3-year struggle. NSFAS funding was increased and other progressive agreements and commitments reached, although the main demand of free education was not achieved. Now, however, almost all of it, if not everything, has been reversed.
As the old saying goes “A nation that doesn’t prioritise education is doomed”. Will education be the permanent victim of our ruling elite’s neo-liberal economic and social policies? Is Section 29(1) of our constitution just hollow rhetoric?
In this critical forum, we will discuss the above developments and their implications for a national student movement still dealing with its pacification by the state after the ‘must fall’ era. The substantial decrease in the amount of money allocated to this sector implies that the government is abandoning it to the free market. As young people, we must ponder what this means for the future of basic and higher education in our country
Institute for African Alternatives is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Institute for African Alternatives’ EDUCATION BUDGET FORUM
Time: Nov 12, 2020 03:00 PM Harare, Pretoria
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Meeting ID: 824 7616 7889
Passcode: 314920
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