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19 September 2016
TUITION FEES: THE CLICHÉ FRUIT AND ROOT PROBLEM
Written by Paul Maritz, Tiaan Meiring, and Jacques Hugo.
South Africa finds itself at a fork in the road
On the one side there is an internationally competitive country, prepared to shove off its colonial past like
Brazil, South Korea, Mexico, and so many other, and enter the conversation as an equal. As leader in
strategic sectors South Africa would then become a leader in various academic fields, a power to be
reckoned with.
On the other side there is decay, crime, and impatience between differing people, all of this driven by poverty
and unemployment. Should this case of the fork be walked down, the dependence on social grants as well
as the illiteracy percentages would rise, and our name and reputation amongst international investors would
nosedive like a falling plane.
The power which must force our country in one of these two directions is the always important Tertiary
Education Sector. This sector is of amazing importance to the present, but even more so to the future of
South Africa. It seems rather obvious, but has recently been proven by countless economic articles that an
increase in the amount of education that a person gets will in almost all cases lead to an increase in the
amount of income which that person will earn in his or her life. Furthermore, it must be noted that education
leads to additional appointments in the sense that the education of one lawyer leads to the appointment of
two clerks and a secretary. This model may be duplicated on all different professions in a different but
pragmatically similar way.
The fruit and the branch
The question that we as students are constantly faced with is why this sector, if it is so very important for the
future of this country, is being neglected so drastically by the government? As we are speaking protest
groups are gathering, painting banners, and who knows wat else. It would be so easy to paint these student
groups as the antagonist in the narrative, but it might be high time to reconsider the true role of the
characters in this story.
As members of a student representative council, we are in the middle of the two most visible speakers in this
debate: On the one hand there is the student, too poor to eat three times a day, in most cases too poor to
buy handbooks, stationary, and of course to pay tuition fees. On the other hand, there is universities, spread
so thin to get through this year with the same budget as last year that upgrades and maintenance of fixed
assets is left behind, and bonuses for top academics are mostly no more than a firm handshake.
As members of a student representative council we believe that these two parties might be compared to a
fruit and a branch of a tree with rotten roots. The fruit, which would in this metaphor represent the student, is
angry with the branch which does not channel enough water and resources to it. The branch would
represent universities. The branch is angry with the fruit because it asks for more water and resources than
the branch has to give. We believe that this phenomenon in nature is caused by roots that get more than
enough water, but channels this water to a wide array of other factors such as leaves and blossoms, leaving
the branches and fruit to wither and die. The roots are of course the government.
In 2011 the then head of the Special Research Unit, Willie Hofmeyr, told Parliament that between R25 and
30 billion is lost per year due to corruption in the national tendering system. This is, to put it in perspective,
not even the total amount lost to corruption per year, only the amount lost in this sector. This amount would
have, on its own have covered all South Africa’s poor yet deserving students. In the same breath we urge
the government to take a long hard look at the functioning of many of its parastatal organisations. The yearly
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bail-out packages serve as continuous leak in the financial system, a leak that is taking away funds which
would have made a massive difference in the Tertiary Education Sector. A third point of financial
government waste is its tendency to announce raises in salaries which exceed inflation. This should be
avoided at all cost. A mere cut of 5% to the state salary bill would lead to a saving of R22billion, and that
was just in 2015.
#Feesmustfall?
The question must then be asked how we feel about an increase in class fees for the year 2017. Once more
we need to state that there are many students who will be financially excluded by such a move, and that
there are universities that will have to close if there is no increase. What we then propose is that both the
student sand the universities in South Africa take the finger of blame out of each other’s faces, and
collectively point it at the Union Buildings.
It seems to us as if the word “state” in front of “state universities” is becoming more redundant each year. In
the year 2000 49% of the revenue that universities in South Africa received came from the government, in
2012 that figure was a mere 40%.
In conclusion we can now say that we, as all young people in South Africa. Stand together for unraised
tuition fees in 2017. Be this as it may we do not however stand for unraised revenue for universities in 2017,
as the sector would never survive it, with universities closing down one by one, and unemployment shooting
even higher.
We claim that the roots start doing their jobs! We claim that incompetent parastatal companies not be kept
afloat at the cost of our futures! We claim a 20% increase in the subsidy to universities in the year 2017, to
cover the losses in 2016 and 2017 unconditionally. Once more we state that this increase must not lead to
an increase in the taxation of the already over-taxed citizens of South Africa, but simply to the fair and
justified usage of state funds.
2017?
The conclusion is that a debate regarding tuition fees is and will remain a futile debate. No increase in tuition
fees will be necessary in 2017 if the biggest player comes to the table. We are pleading with our ministers,
both the one with the red tie and the one with the wallet: Do not pick the wrong side of the fork in the road
today, we will never recover from it!
Paul Maritz and Jacques Hugo are the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson of the NWU Pukke SRC
respectively. Tiaan Meiring is currently doing a Masters degree at the NWU.
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KLASGELDE: DIE OU BEKENDE VRUG-EN-WORTEL PROBLEEM.
Geskryf deur Paul Maritz, Tiaan Meiring, en Jacques Hugo.
Suid-Afrika is by ʼn vurk in die pad.
Na die een kant is daar ʼn internasionaal kompeterende land, gereed om, soos Brasilië, Suid-Korea, Meksiko,
en verskeie ander, sy koloniale verlede agter hom te sit en as gelyke tot die tafel te tree. As voorloper in
strategiese sektore sou Suid-Afrika dan ook voorloper in verskeie akademiese velde word, ʼn mag om mee te
reken.
Na die ander kant is daar verval, misdaad en ongeduldigheid tussen mense wat verskil, alles gedryf deur
armoede en werkloosheid. Indien hierdie kant van die vurk gestap word sou die afhanklikheid van welsyn en
die ongeletterdheidsyfers toeneem, en ons naam onder internasionale beleggers soos Kaap Agulhas die
Suide induik.
Die stootkrag wat ons land in ʼn rigting moet stoot by hierdie immer gewigtige saak is niks anders nie as die
Tersiêre Onderwyssektor. Hierdie sektor is van kern strategiese belang in die hede, maar veral die toekoms
van Suid-Afrika. Dit is logies afleibaar maar ook onlangs in ʼn magdom ekonomiese artikels bevestig dat ʼn
toename in die hoeveelheid onderrig wat ʼn persoon ontvang sal lei tot ʼn toename in die inkomste wat
daardie persoon in sy of haar lewe sal ontvang. Verder lei kundigheid ook tot verdere aanstellings, in die sin
dat die opleiding van een prokureur lei tot die aanstelling van twee klerke en ʼn sekretaresse, ʼn model wat op
ʼn unieke wyse toegepas kan word op elke verworwe kwalifikasie.
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Die vrug en die tak
Die vraag wat ons as studente konstant kwel is waarom hierdie sektor, as dit so verskriklik belangrik vir die
toekoms van ons land is, so afgeskeep word deur die regering? Soos ons praat is protesgroepe besig om te
vergader, plakkate te verf, en wie weet wat anders. Dit is so natuurlik om sulke studentegroepe dadelik as
die antagonis in die narratief te stel – maar miskien is die tyd hier om werklik te besin oor die rolspelers in
hierdie hele storie.
As studenteraadslede is ons in die middel van die twee sigbaarste sprekers in hierdie debat: Aan die een
kant het jy die student, te arm om drie keer per dag te eet, in baie gevalle te arm vir handboeke,
skryfbehoeftes, en natuurlik klasgelde. Aan die ander kant het jy universiteite, so dungesmeer om met
verlede jaar se begroting uit te kom dat opgraderings en instandhouding van bates agter gelaat word, en
bonusse vir toppresterende akademici nie meer as ʼn ferm handdruk is nie.
As studenteraadslede argumenteer ons dat hierdie twee partye vergelyk kan word met ʼn vrug en ʼn tak van ʼn
boom met vrot wortels. Die vrug, wat die student voorstel, is kwaad vir die tak wat nie genoeg water en
hulpbronne na dit kanaliseer nie, en die tak, wat die universiteite voorstel, is kwaad vir die vrug omdat die
vrug meer vereis as wat die tak kan lewer. Ons argumenteer dat hierdie fenomeen in die natuur die gevolg
is van wortels wat meer as genoeg water kry, maar die water aanwend op allerhande bloeisels en blare,
maar die vrugte en takke laat vergaan. Die wortels is natuurlik die regering.
In 2011 het die destydse hoof van die Spesiale Ondersoek Eenheid, Willie Hofmeyr, dit aan die Parlement
gestel dat tussen R25 en R30 miljard rand per jaar verlore gaan as gevolg van korrupsie in die nasionale
tenderstelsel, dus nie eens die totale bedrag wat korrupsie per jaar verlore laat gaan nie. Hierdie bedrag
geld sou opsigself al Suid-Afrika se arm-tog-verdienstige studente kon dek. In dieselfde asem kan die
regering kyk na die funksionering van verskeie van sy parastatale organisasies, wie se reddingspakkette ʼn
deurlopende dreinering van die staatskas veroorsaak, ʼn dreinering van fondse wat broodnodige hulp in die
Tersiêre Onderwyssektor sou kon bied. ʼn Derde punt van vermorsing van die staat se kant af is hul
geneigdheid om salarisverhogings in die staatsektor aan te kondig wat ver meer is as inflasie, wat vermy
behoort te word. Deur die staat se salarisrekening met net 5% te sny sou nog R22 miljard net in 2015
gespaar kon word.
#Feesmustfall?
Die vraag moet dus gevra word hoe ons voel oor ʼn verhoging in klasgelde in die jaar 2017. Weereens stel
ons dat daar studente is wat deur so ʼn skuif uitgesluit sal word, en dat daar universiteite is wat sal toe maak
as dit nie gebeur nie. Wat ons voorstel is dat beide die studente en die universiteite in Suid-Afrika die vinger
uit mekaar se gesigte haal, en gesamentlik na daardie mooi bruin gebou in Pretoria wys.
Dit wil vir ons voorkom asof die woord “staats” voor Staatsuniversiteit eintlik jaarliks kwyn. In die jaar 2000 is
49% van universiteite se totale inkomste deur die staat gedek, en 2012 was dit maar 40%.
In gevolgtrekking kan ons dan nou sê dat ons, soos al die jongmense in Suid-Afrika, staan vir onverhoogde
klasgelde in die jaar 2017. Maar ons staan nie vir onverhoogde inkomste vir universiteite nie, die sektor sal
dit nie maak nie, die universiteite sal een vir een deure toemaak, en werkloosheid sal die hoogte inskiet.
Ons eis is dat die wortels hulle werk begin doen! Ons eis is dat onbevoegde parastatale maatskappye nie
ten koste van die jeug aan’t drywe gehou word nie! Ons eis ʼn 20% verhoging in staatsubsidie aan
universiteite vir die jaar 2017, om die nodige verhogings vir 2016 en 2017 onvoorwaardelik te dek, en dan
weereens dat hierdie verhoging nie moet uitloop op ʼn toename in belasting nie, maar doodeenvoudig op die
billike spandering van staatsfondse.
2017?
Die slotsom is dat ʼn debat oor fooie se toename of nie-toename ʼn futiele debat is. Geen toename sal in
2017 nodig wees nie as die grootste speler ter tafel tree nie. Ons pleit by ons ministers, beide die een met
die rooi das sowel as die een met die beursie – moenie vandag die verkeerde kant van die vurk in die pad
kies nie. Ons sal daarvan nooit terugkeer nie.
Paul Maritz en Jacques Hugo is onderskeidelik die voorsitter en adjunk-voorsitter van die NWU-Pukke
Studenteraad. Tiaan Meiring doen tans ʼn Meestersgraad in Ekonomie aan die NWU.
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