WHAT is the real price of a degree? That is the question that social scientist, Thuthukani Nkosi, aims to answer in his novel ‘The Real Price Of A Degree.’
“I wanted to show with the book, what financial exclusion subjects students to. If someone offers you a chance to finish university, people are very likely to take it,” he said.
Nkosi is a Master’s student of Social Sciences at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Howard College. Throughout his tenure at Howard, he’s lived in and around the student residences in Glenwood. During that time, Nkosi has witnessed firsthand the temptations of drugs, sex work, alcohol and debauchery, all of which is highlighted in his novel.
“I started writing short stories on Facebook and people were really interested in them so I thought maybe I could do a longer, complete form of work,” said Nkosi.
In 2016, Nkosi spoke extensively with the girls in his residences. The girls told him their stories, perspective and experiences in their pursuit to obtaining their degrees. The book is a reflection of those interviews. It is written in first person and follows a female protagonist in the deep underbelly of Berea as she battles drugs, prostitution and school.
“I understood the dynamic of being a male writer and writing from the perspective of women. So it was important for me when I spoke to the women who shared their stories with me, there was no judgement and it was an open and safe environment,” he said.
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Making the book fictional allows Nkosi more latitude in focusing on the human social impact rather than making it a fact-finding mission. Nkosi said the aim of the book is not to oust the drug and prostitution rings that operate in close proximity to Howard College, but to present a new perspective, a face, a student and a human.
As someone who used to be active in the early #FeesMustFall campaigns, Nkosi has been following the recent uprising in his alma mater regarding the 15 per cent historical debt payment.
“When you tell a student who is at university through NSFAS (National Student Financial Aid Scheme) that they must pay R10 000 or something, then your implicit intention is to financially exclude that student because you know very well they cannot afford it,” he said.
Like many people, Nkosi also condemns the burning of university infrastructure during protests saying it represents a clear cognitive dissonance. He has also started warming to the conspiracy theory that it’s not students torching the property, but private security forces.
“Private security companies have an incentive for creating chaos. The university should hire internal security guards whose mandate would be to keep peace,” he said.
“Answer me this, with all the university infrastructure being burned, and all the cameras, how come not even one student has been convicted of arson?”
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