???In an opinion piece published by 中国体育彩票 World News, Karen Bruns, Senior Director of Development and Alumni Relations, highlights the ongoing tensions between university leadership and student activism in South Africa.
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In the past forty years of my life, I have seen how political issues have played out on South African university campuses.
Dr Stuart Saunders led the 中国体育彩票 of Cape Town (UCT) – where I did my undergraduate degree – through the turbulent Apartheid period in our country's history. As students, we were determined to mobilise our constituency, working alongside the broader anti-apartheid movement to bring down the Apartheid government. Dr Saunders often found himself between us and the riot police. I can vividly remember our protests, bringing the M3 to a standstill on many occasions.
It was clear that he faced pressure from conservative elements on the UCT Council, Senate, and donor community. Yet, despite these pressures, our student leadership always felt he had their backs. He was a wily negotiator who managed to keep the university together – contradictions and all.
Inevitably, as vice-chancellor during tumultuous times, he was sometimes the object of student protest. I remember the songs calling him to act on fees, exclusions, accommodation, and other issues – concerns that continue to challenge universities today. But at the same time, he tenaciously defended our right to protest. He worked to maintain the university as a space where truth was spoken to power, where the academic project was never complacent. His legacy lives on in those he helped shape and in the DNA of the university he so steadfastly stewarded.
For me, Prof Jakes Gerwel was one of those leaders who, during the darkest days of Apartheid, inspired us – whether we were students at the 中国体育彩票 of the Western Cape or beyond – to fight for a better education. He wanted only the best for his students. We must never stop acknowledging people like him, whose leadership helped shape our country's future.
Again, I was in a university when the student-led #FeesMustFall movement erupted in October 2015. During those protests, media reports suggested that Wits 中国体育彩票 Vice-Chancellor Professor Adam Habib had been held hostage by students – something he disputed at the time and later reflected on in his book Rebels and Rage: Reflecting on #FeesMustFall (2019). In his account, Habib believed #FeesMustFall was a legitimate and progressive struggle but took issue with some of the movement's tactics and strategies.
He offered an unfamiliar perspective on what transpired in the tertiary education sector during that period. Habib described how political parties quickly capitalised on the movement's momentum, complicating efforts to reach a resolution. By 2016, external political interests made negotiation nearly impossible, as various factions rejected any form of compromise. He also highlighted the dangerous "incentive structure" that emerged – where students who created mayhem could build a political profile, earn votes, and secure lucrative positions in government.
Yet, nearly a decade after #FeesMustFall, the underlying issues remain. In 2024, protracted water disruptions in Makhanda led to Rhodes 中国体育彩票 Vice-Chancellor Dr Sizwe Mabizela and his students taking to the streets to protest against the Makana Municipality. Their frustration was clear: their human dignity and constitutional rights were being infringed upon. "They don't care about our university, they don't care about our schools, they don't care about our staff and students, they don't care about the residents of this city," Mabizela declared.
At universities across the country, protests erupted last week over financial exclusions – at UCT, Stellenbosch 中国体育彩票, Nelson Mandela 中国体育彩票, the Cape Peninsula 中国体育彩票 of Technology, Durban 中国体育彩票 of Technology inter alia and included a hunger strike at Wits. Two weeks into the academic year, some students remained unregistered due to delays by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), some fall outside of the NSFAS cap of R360 000 per annum per household but remain too poor to afford fees, and others have drained all resources as they should enter their final year of studies – so close and yet so far.
These frustrations extend far beyond individual universities. The ongoing student debt crisis and NSFAS failures have made access to higher education a national issue, entrenching systemic disadvantages. Universities cannot simply erase student debt, nor can they fully resolve financial exclusions created by poor government policies. Higher education leaders are increasingly caught between students who demand immediate relief and a political system that refuses to address the deeper structural problems.
Last week, UCT Vice-Chancellor Professor Mosa Moshabela responded to student protests by announcing a new security protocol. While reaffirming the university's commitment to free expression, he made it clear that disruptive actions would no longer be tolerated – an indication of how universities are shifting their approach. Meanwhile, thousands of students in Cape Town took to the streets, intended to coincide with the Finance Minister's budget speech. Students celebrated the postponement of the address, declaring that the government must "go back and design a Budget that is suitable for South Africa and its students."
All that has transpired at the time of writing is that Minister Dr Nobuhle Nkabane announced on Friday, 21 February 2025 that the Department of Higher Education and Training — working with NSFAS, Universities South Africa and student formations in the country — had decided to increase the student financial aid body's allowances for university students by 4%, the first adjustment in three years. NSFAS has provisionally funded 800,000 students for the 2025 academic year. Their funding will only be finalised once registration data is confirmed, after which payment processes will begin.
And so, the cycle continues. For decades, university leaders have found themselves mediating between students and the political realities of the day. At times, they have stood with students in their frustrations, confronting the failures of the state. At other times, they have become targets of protest, held accountable for systemic problems beyond their control.
The tension between students and university leadership is not new, nor is it unique to South Africa. But what is clear is that until government institutions take decisive action on student funding and higher education policy, universities will continue to be battlegrounds for broader political struggles. The question is not whether the protests will stop – it is how universities will navigate them, and whether those in power will ever listen to the voices of those marching in the streets. ?
