Higher education: Zuma and the EFF are acting recklessly – Belinda Bozzoli

Higher Education and Training Minister should provide leadership on higher education crisis

The DA has called on the Minister of Higher Education and Training, Hlengiwe Mkhize, to intervene in the registration processes at higher education institutions across the country as the process is currently at risk of devolving into chaos as a result of President Jacob Zuma's reckless announcement and the EFF's inflammatory call for action.

The DA has previously noted the potentially disastrous consequences of Zuma's announcement that the government would introduce fully subsidized free higher education and training for poor and working-class graduate students. These warnings are now coming true as the EFF has made a provocative call for academically qualified students to report to higher education institutions of their choice seeking to be registered to study in 2018.

The DA notes the failure of Zuma and Mkhize to provide strong leadership in this matter and we accordingly call on them to intervene decisively to avoid a potentially violent crisis. Mkhize will now have to explain a clear stance on whether she supports Zuma's announcement of free education and what her department intends to do to reduce registration processes that have become predatory.

Zuma's announcement was apparently made without consulting National Treasury or the Department of Higher Education and Training. It merely serves as a tool of cheap politics, aimed at scoring points ahead of the ANC conference in an attempt to salvage the legacy of his failed presidency. Similarly now, the EFF's ill-considered call for walk-in registration is evidence of a failure to understand that placements in higher education institutions across South Africa have not increased – higher education institutions generally prepare their admissions figures at least a year in advance to ensure that resources are adequately allocated to meet the needs of incoming students.

Demanding that institutions of higher education accept walk-in registration is a direct violation of many institutions' registration processes and places undue strain on their systems and resources. Furthermore, given the precedent of walk-in registration processes being violent, these calls put students' safety at risk.

DA believes that all eligible students should have access to higher education and that poor students should be provided financial assistance within the limits of the law and the country's available resources. Quality higher education for South Africa's youth can no longer be used as a tool for cheap politics – political parties must not allow Zuma to create division following his departure. Furthermore, students should avoid participating in activities that are against the rules of tertiary institutions – registration must be in accordance with the rules and procedures of higher education institutions.

Statement issued by Professor Belinda Bozzoli – DA Shadow Minister for Higher Education and Training, 3 January 2017