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As South Africa will this year mark 40 years since the 1976 student uprising, commentators have long described the events of June 16 as the tipping point in the struggle for liberation.
Fast-forward to the current student protests in 2016 – which started off as a groundswell movement dubbed #FeesMustFall and escalated to the burning and vandalism of university property – and one can’t help but draw uncomfortably close parallels with 1976.
The first comparison between the past and current situations is that the catalysts of activism were students/school pupils in both cases.
Secondly, education and the transformation of the education system are at the core of their dissatisfaction. The Class of ’76 could no longer tolerate being forced to learn in Afrikaans, the language of their oppressor. And today, the education departments have not adequately tackled the issue of the black majority feeling marginalised by Afrikaans-medium institutions.
The other gripe that students of these two movements had, and have, is the colonised and Westernised content that still dominates academic syllabuses. African knowledge systems and history, and the voices of African academics and scholars, are but a fraction of the lion’s share that is enjoyed by Western scholarship, literature and learning models.
Most concerning of all these parallels is the excessive use of force by both governments in dealing with the protests. The image of a dying Hector Pieterson will forever be a symbol of ’76.
Today, we see images of the police using live ammunition to disperse students at North-West University, resulting in one of them dying and another pregnant student suffering police-inflicted injuries.
Students in Mahikeng allege that countless peaceful and civil requests for meetings and expressions of grievance fell on deaf management ears. This, like the Class of ’76, is what forced students to change tack and use other means to finally get the attention of management and government.
While banned political parties at the time played some role in mobilising and supporting the student uprisings, the young people were clear that their cause transcended politics and cut to the heart of human rights – the right to a decent education and human dignity.
Likewise, the #FeesMustFall movement rejected opportunistic politicians who tried to use their cause to score points. They sought to retain the purity of their cause – free and equal access to quality education, which is linked to human dignity. Their message is clearly directed at government and the academic institutions they feel have failed them.
Lastly, and most importantly, both student movements have cast a spotlight on leadership. The current uprising has exposed the fragmented and sporadic messages that come from some sectors – with no unified, coherent voice or action. When a credible leader takes up a position in an academic institution, there is no attempt to create a structure around them outside the formal governance structure.
They are left to fend for themselves, with the result that when students are baying for their blood, there is no structure in place to deal with the situation. This is an indictment not only of political leaders, but of everyone from academia, business and civil society.
The silence of business – specifically black business – is deafening. It is easy for this group to pontificate and criticise government, the universities and students, but is it not time that they, individually and collectively, stood up and were counted?
We have allowed history to be repeated under our watch. Forty years on, it is again the youth who have woken us from our slumber. Must students always trash something for their voices to be heard? When will we speak up and act? When will we start listening and acting?
Ntsaluba is a chartered accountant and businessman.
