Call the fire department or don’t, these fires will be burning either way.
As you read the title of this column you would be wrong in thinking I am referring to the coming-of -age 80’s cult classic, but actually the fire that the youth of South Africa are using to voice their issues of #FeesMustFall. Some intend to watch the world burn whilst others try to douse the flame and ‘redirect’ it so that they only partially scald the surroundings and not destroy everything in its path like the runaway veld fire this movement has become.
The definition of St. Elmo’s fire is “a weather phenomenon involving a gap in electrical charge. It’s like lightning, but not quite.” This very aptly describes the situation of #FeesMustFall. The students believe there is a gap in the tertiary education system that needs to be filled by government in the way of providing free education. It’s a cause that you can relate to, but is flawed at the root of it all because the last time any protest for #FeesMustFall actually protested free education was most probably last year.
This whole movement was hijacked and turned into a political and racist agenda with no clear cut divide between cause and effect. ‘Students’ burning down busses and assaulting police. ‘Students’ rioting and breaking windows then looting the shops for the sake of what exactly? What possible reasoning goes into the mind of a student that can justify these actions? To force someone to listen? To ‘make a point’? And then to threaten other students with violence if they don’t join your cause?
This is not a movement; this is stagnation.
See what we fail to realise is that free education is not free in its purest form because government cannot just create money to fund another project; they have to take and redistribute in the form of taxes. Germany offers free University for all, at the price of 45, 9% tax. Sounds good doesn’t it? But let me give some simple yes and no answers to some questions we face in this debacle we call movement.
Are the universities responsible for free education? No. The ruling government party is as they have promised this in their past two campaigns. Can you make a difference by burning down the very same buildings you want to study at? No. That’s like me wanting to burn down my car because of fuel prices being too high. Are there any solutions to the problem that can make everybody happy? Yes, many. Work towards making primary education free and increasing the quality of education in Primary and High school’s then the issue of Universities can be addressed where the government can subsidise students who cannot afford it and allow more bursaries and even the private sector to get involved.
Buddy my puppy has been quiet throughout the entire rant I had mostly because he knows that if he had to destroy his food bowl, I could no longer feed him.
