EFFSC takes a stand at Society Introduction Week

According to Threestreamsmedia, the Economic Freedom Fighters Student Command (EFFSC) took part in the annual North-West University (NWU) Society Introduction Week at the Potchefstroom Campus, which is intended to allow different student societies to market themselves.

The organisation praised the NWU for allowing societies to formally mobilise members and to market themselves without being victimised.

EFFSC treasurer Tshidiso Taeli said the EFFSC is a militant and radical organisation that believes in economic freedom intertwined with free education, as stated in the “non-negotiable” seven pillars in their manifesto.

Taeli said the EFFSC’s mandate and programme of action at the NWU are to scrap the language policy, which he said seeks to oppress students of colour and exclude them from getting a quality education.

Taeli further said his association wants free and well-resourced education for every student regardless of race.

He said the NWU policy does not correspond with what the EFFSC believes in. They are striving to also do away with the translation services offered in classes, and eradicate the hostel culture.

Tristan Bourne, chairperson of the council of societies, said the aim of Society Introduction Week is to create awareness. In this way, students have the opportunity to find a space on campus to associate and socialise with people who share the same mindset and views.

The EFFSC, wants the NWU to adopt a 50/50 admission policy in the residences for the sake of black students. “This will permit black students to live in a residence that is closer to the university, as most of them come from poor family backgrounds,” he said.

According to Louis Jacobs, director of corporate communications of the NWU, this process has already started.

“The 50/50 intake in residences on the Potchefstroom Campus applies to first-year students in 2020. The placement process for senior students will be a phased-in process and for 2020, the minimum target for black senior students in residences is 30%,” he said.

According to the management’s decision equity targets are used as minimum diversity targets and used to achieve overall equity targets. A 50% target for black (African, Coloured and Indian) first-year students in residences on the Potchefstroom Campus has been set to ensure that the overall equity targets are reached. On the Vaal Triangle and Mafikeng Campuses, the target is 16% and 6% respectively for white students. Management also has to keep in mind the demand from all prospective students to study at a specific campus as well as the need for the demographic profile to reflect that we take cognisance of the principle that South African universities must be broadly representative of the population, with provision for measures to address the imbalances of the past; hence the difference in targets per campus.

These targets which were approved by the university management seek to create a more inclusive university and specifically Potchefstroom campus by 2025.

According to Jacobs in 2018, the Residence Department embarked on a process to align and improve the residence application and placement process. Some of the improvements include the implementation of an online application process and its communication capabilities. This applies to all three campuses and includes better control measures for the placement process, and the alignment of confirmation deposits for first-year students (or bursary application status) to ensure that students eventually register at the NWU.

The EFFSC’s deputy secretary, Boitumelo Phadi, said being a member of EFFSC is about advocating for student rights and ensuring that every student is able to fit in the privileged bracket.

Phadi said EFFSC’s primary goal is to see students rise and become the best they can be. “We are all from different parts of the country and different backgrounds; we need to feel accommodated and safe here. So as the EFFSC, we try to breach that divide and ensure that students are comfortable and able to pursue their studies,” Phadi said.

Challenges always arise where organisations are involved, and the EFFSC is not an exception. Phadi said in advocating for black students’ rights, the biggest challenge is the black students themselves. There is no unity among them, as some feel other people’s problems do not affect them; thus creating a huge divide.

The EFFSC NWU Potchefstroom is a non-racial and non-sexist organisation and in 2019 it was hailed as the best political association at the NWU.