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A higher education national convention is set to be held in a few weeks’ time to discuss issues affecting university students.
The convention, scheduled to take on February 25 and 26, will be a platform where civil society groups, businesses, students and university staff are expected to give their input and proposals to the government on how to deal with the crisis in the higher education sector.
This was announced by the National Education Crisis Forum convener, former deputy chief justice Dikgang Moseneke, at the official launch of the forum at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg today.
Moseneke, flanked by fellow members Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana, Prof Pitika Ntuli, Judge Yvonne Mokgoro, Santie Botha, Sello Hatang and the Forum’s secretariat Advocate Louisa Zondo, briefed the media about their plans.
Co-conveners Professor Mary Metcalfe, Jay Naidoo and Jabu Mabuza were not present at the briefing.
Moseneke said several meetings were held with stakeholders from late last year. It was prompted by challenges raised by students through the #FeesMustFall protests.
“South Africa is on the cusp of a systemic crisis in education. The education crisis affects all levels of education in South Africa – from early childhood development through to tertiary education – and reflects societal problem produced by policy choices made over various epochs in South African history, including the apartheid and post-apartheid eras.
“The crisis is evident in the perpetuation of inequality, as well as exclusion and marginalisation on various grounds including race, gender, class and a range of others in which dominance is created and normalised and discrimination is meted out to those who, through such prism of dominance, are considered to constitute ‘the other’.”
In preparation for the Convention, draft discussion documents would be circulated.
These would look into seven “work streams” that would be considered by stakeholders.
Part of the work streams include
» Registration this year;
» Funding models;
» Peace and mediation framework;
» Transformation;
» Higher education access and massification;
» Student accommodation; and
» Policy and legislation amendments.
A similar initiative, the South African Student Solidarity Foundation for Education trustees, held its second meeting at Wits University today.
Some of the issues on the agenda included securing funding to improve access to higher education.
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