Impassioned speeches were made by guest speakers during the panel discussion at the SASCO (South African Students’ Congress) Right to Learn rally on Freedom Day.
Buyile Matiwane, Western Cape Chairperson of SASCO, was one of the guest speakers. He explained that movements such as #FeesMustFall are ultimately about the right to learn. “Forget all the labels like #FeesMustFall, Open Stellenbosch, etc. The overarching issue is the right to learn and access to education.”
Students from all over the Western Cape travelled to Stellenbosch for the Right to Learn rally. PHOTO: CHRISTINA PITT
A word often associated with free education is “decolonisation”. Former Provincial Secretary of SASCO, Naledi Maponopono, was adamant that “decolonisation” is foreign to the organisation: “Don’t adopt ‘decolonisation’ because you won’t be able to explain it. Rather use ‘transformation’ and ‘redress’ because you can always refer to our documents.”
Maponopono emphasised that students should contribute to the expansion of African academia as individuals, “What are you as an individual doing to promote African language? Don’t just pass the responsibility to SASCO. We all need to make a contribution.”
SASCO Chairperson of the Western Cape, Buyile Matiwane was a guest speaker at the event. PHOTO: CHRISTINA PITT
Precious Banda, a member of the National Executive Committee for the Youth Communist League (YCL) followed with a speech about the principle of community. “Just because you are a student, it does not mean that you are a part of the elite. As a member of the community, you must apply the skills you learned and contribute to your community.” She continued: “We are members of the community before we are students. Don’t forget that.”
It is no coincidence that the Right to Learn rally was scheduled for Freedom Day.
SASCO intended to commemorate fallen South African heroes and their struggle for a better education system. “SASCO is the champion of the student. This rally was organised to discuss student issues such as registration problems and academic exclusion. We are here to figure out how to move forward,” said Thulani Hlatshwayo, one of the organisers.
SASCO members sang and danced throughout the event. PHOTO: CHRISTINA PITT
SASCO Maties hosted the event in the LLL Village at Stellenbosch University. Members from the University of Cape Town and Cape Peninsula University of Technology were also in attendance.
A march to NSFAS (National Student Financial Aid Scheme) offices in Wynberg on 5 May has been planned to protest the delay in student funding leaving students without book and food allowances. – Christina Pitt