AKF supports #FeesMustFall campaign
This follows days of student protests at several universities across the country calling for a halt on fee increases.
JOHANNESBURG SOUTH – The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation (AKF) Wits chapter backs the ongoing protest action, or what is now known nationally, as the #FeesMustFall campaign.
The movement aims to fight against the fee increases to ensure that tertiary education is still accessible to the poor.
The protests on Wits campuses have remained peaceful, despite provocation from non-protesting students. AKF Wits is fully behind this peaceful protest and recognises that it is a necessary form of action towards society’s transformation. It is unfortunate the protests on other university campuses have been met with violence and brutality from the police.
Kathrada said in a statement: “We commend and laud the 23 university students, who directed protest action directly to the state. Their Cape Town counterparts have reportedly been threatened, physically assaulted and arrested. We strongly condemn the police’s force and arrests of unarmed students. The problem of fees is not one that can be solved individually by universities; the government has a critical role to play in ensuring accessibility and affordability especially for the most disadvantaged in society.
“Together with other university bodies, we call on the state to urgently respond to this national crisis. Action needs to be taken by the government to re-direct resources or raise additional revenue to fund universities, in order to ensure affordable education for all. We would like to thank our members and other students across South Africa who have been committed to this cause from the very onset and who have advocated for peaceful, non-racial and non-violent protests. We call on all our members to show solidarity and join in these peaceful protests, as well as to bring along books to study during the protest action!”
