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The past year has been an up and down roller coaster for students in South-Africa. From causing chaos in the streets to burning down buildings ( which costs money to be replaced ,money that could have been allocated to universities)
Universities all over the country have closed down on numerous occasions this year meaning students who are serious about learning lost valuable teaching time and in certain circumstances meant they missed tests or project due dates meaning they have to redo the year .
These protests can cause students their futures they have been working for , for who knows how long.
#feesmustfall is in my opinion a great idea but it is carried out poorly because instead of getting everyone to acknowledge the fact that the fees are to high , the whole Country thinks of this as violence and scared to send their children back in because of intimidation .
As a future student I certainly hope this clears up . Everyone always say University is the best time of your life , but with these protests its just fear and depression coming to the surface
Understanding the reason behind #feesmustfall
South-Africa is by far not the wealthiest country on our planet and with corruption being an all time high ,funds to our schools and learning institutions are not up to standard. But it is not just because corruption that the money isn't allocated to the necessary points but we as South-Africans can also blame it on poor leadership and management skills.
- The rand-dollar exchange rate has fallen by approximately 22%, which has resulted in a substantial increase in the amount of money that we pay for all library books, journals, electronic resources research equipment that are procured in dollars and euros.
- Salary increases for academics are set at 7% based on a three-year cycle and these increases are necessary to ensure that we retain the best intellectual minds in the country.
- Generic inflation is hovering at around 6% which impacts on all other expenses that the University has to cover.
- Utilities are increasing at rates substantially higher than the inflation rate."[7]
For students it is becoming more and more difficult to pay these fees and in October 2015 the protest started with one goal in mind to stop fee increases and thus making studying on tertiary level affordable for all.
In South-Africa there is only a handful of people who can actually afford these university fees already ,the rest all rely on bursaries and student loans and if fees were to increase they would be unable to continue .
Loans are only given to those who can repay them and some people cant apply for bursaries because they are in the middle class but cant afford university fees .That is why these protests started .
Credit Timeslive
As all protests it was all about creating awareness and showing how they feel ,which in a civilized way is a great way to make a point but the protest has since then turned chaotic.
Is this really the answer?
Look I totally understand why this movement (if we can call it that) startedbut what i don't get is how can people -who don't want the universities to increase their fees - burn down buildings and libraries. Yes drastic times call for drastic measures but it doesn't mean burn down the buildings that will help you learn
I do not think they comprehend the fact that now money needs to be used to rebuild and restock those burned down which means less money towards keeping fees down.By protesting and causing trouble the goverment has to bring in more policemen to control the (riot-ish)protest and if you guys do not know it costs MONEY to do just that.
Universities will be closed down till further notice! For many children this sentence sounds like heaven ...But to students who spend so much money or have bursaries to uphold by doing good it is their worst nightmare.
Will #feesmustfall ever stop ?
Honestly ! NO
The hashtag's verb "must fall" is a clear indication of what Students want and the country thought it would be over when President Zuma announced there will be no fee increases in 2016 ,but to our suprise it continued.
Why?
Because the President nearly said there will be no increases , which means the fees did not fall
Fees did not fall, they were frozen
President Zuma’s announcement at Union Buildings was received with mixed reactions, with most students saying that it was not a victory. “Fees have not fallen. They were merely frozen by a President who refused to address us in person. So no, I am not at all happy,” said a University of Pretoria student at the Union Buildings in October last year. Even if the fees do not increase, some students will still be financially excluded and will not be able to return to the university. The Wits Student Representative Council (SRC) has been inundated with students who have been excluded from the university because of finances. The various #FeesMustFall movements are demanding that all registration fees be cancelled so that students register for free.
Until the fees actually take a steep dip downwards, #feesmustfall will continue and it can only get worse from here on out.
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