THE RISE IN FEES MUST FALL MOVEMENT

By Dumisani Hlatswayo

It was 2015. There were a lot of things going on in the country, and most political leaders were worried about state capture and the Nkandla saga. They had no time (or interest) to fight for students. As a result, they decided to take matters into their own hands. Armed with unwavering determination, the young warriors challenged Wits University and government authorities and kickstarted a nationwide protest. The one that set in motion a transformative process in the realm of higher education.

“South Africa’s most disruptive student protest since the 1976 Soweto Uprising took place in the middle of October 2015. The protests, which fell under the umbrella term “Fees Must Fall”, took place country-wide and were directed at the proposed increase in tuition fees for 2016,” recalled Michal-Maré Linden in her report entitled Narrating the 2015 Fees Must Fall movement.

How did it all begin?

Fees Must Fall began in 2015 when students at the University of Witwatersrand protested a proposed 10% tuition fee increase. Students at other universities across the country soon joined the movement, demanding free education for all and more financial aid for the poor.

In a powerful wave of revolution, South Africa witnessed the rise of the Fees Must Fall movementspearheaded by passionate students aiming to dismantle the barriers of high tuition fees and scarce financial aid.

South Africa was celebrating the so-called 20 years of democracy when the #FeesMustFall movement erupted. To this day it is still one of the unforgettable mass uprisings since 1994. During this time, we began hearing the terms ‘fallist’ and decolonisation used collectively.

One of the students at Wits, Hlengiwe Ndlovu recalled the day: “On Wednesday, 14 th October 2015 I was woken up by Benita Msibi, the woman who cleans our block at West Campus student village, university of the Witwatersrand. I heard a loud bang on my door followed by her voice. “Hey baby if you are going to be working off campus you better leave now,” she wrote.

Vice-Chancellor Adam Habib was in Durban at a conference on higher education when the protests started. When students and workers heard that the VC was coming to address protesters students, they were all excited and looking forward to engaging him.

“We gathered adjacent to the Bidvest soccer stadium, blockading the Empire road entrance all looking forward to the VC’s address. As the VC was about to address students and workers, we asked the bouncers who were escorting him to leave, as we felt that we were not posing any threats to the VC and therefore should not be addressed by him while surrounded by bouncers,” Ndlovu recalled.

At long last, the VC stood before the students, clarifying that the fee hike was out of his hands and any chance of undoing it, was beyond his powers.

In the beginning, the protests were peaceful but soon turned violent as police intervened. Police and students clashed. The protests resulted in many arrests and some injuries to students.

2023 Wits protests

On the 1 st of March 2023, Wits University students decided to rally against the unfair exclusion of their peers who were unable to register for the new academic year due to a lack of funds or inability to secure housing. As a result of the protest, classes were disrupted and security was beefed up at the university.

The university issued a statement stating that they’ve amped up security measures, making sure that academic proceedings carry on without a hitch. Despite this call, students continued protesting. On the 2 nd of March, they emptied bins and blocked traffic on Empire Road, near the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.

The cost of higher education

Students at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg started the Fees Must Fall movement in 2015 to protest an increase in tuition fees of 10%. Since then, the fees still continue to increase each year. In 2022 the average tuition fee for full-time ranged from R 75 170 to R 75 730.

In South Africa, the soaring costs of higher education are building invisible walls, barring young dreamers from low-income households from stepping into the world of academia. The evergrowing tuition fees are leading to a heart-wrenching exodus of talented students dropping out of university, their dreams echoing in the hallways they once walked, all because of a funding crisis.

Police brutality: lest we forget

#FeesMustFall , which emerged in 2015, resurfaced AGAIN in 2016 with more police brutality and less public support. In one incident, student leaders tried to negotiate a ceasefire with police, and others threw rocks in retaliation, resulting in officers shooting again. Several people were injured, including a student who appeared to suffer serious injuries after a stun grenade exploded close to her face.

Closing

The entire nation came to a standstill as the powerful #FeesMustFall movement ignited a firestorm of protests, challenging sky-high tuition fees. For the very first time, South Africans from all walks of life bonded together, fueled by a shared desire: paving the way for a brighter future for underprivileged students. A necessary cause, one that we should continue to fight for until government ensures that everyone has access to free education.