The Pan Africanist Youth Congress (PAYCO) of Azania notes with dismay the well orchestrated academic and financial exclusion of African youth in the tertiary sector of our education by University Management, conservative Councils and the Department of Higher Education under the leadership of the pseudo communist Minister Blade Nzimande.
We have also noted with utter disgust the inhumane treatment and harsh violence that has been meted on African students for daring to challenge exorbitant fees charged by universities, strict and unreasonable rules applied by universities against poor African youth and dismal failure by the department of Higher Education to facilitate good relations and to intervene timeously where necessary.
We supports, unequivocally, the struggles of students in all institutions of Higher Learning, particularly at Tshwane University of Technology (Soshanguve Campus), University of Zululand , Durban University of Technology (Midlands Campus) who demands among other things the following: guaranteeing of tertiary education as a right as opposed to being a privilege to the select few; free compulsory education; an end to academic and financial exclusion; proper and decent living conditions; transformation; an end to racism and other forms of discrimination; Africanisation of the curriculum; and usage of African languages as medium of instruction.
We call for the following measures to address the current impasse at Institutions of Higher Learning:
Free universal registration of all indigent students who rely on NSFAS and other kinds of financial assistance to pursue their studies;
Immediate re-opening of all institutions closed as a result of students protests, TUT (Soshanguve being the case in point);
Immediate halt on police and security brutality on poor African students who are harassed and shamed for daring to demand free and compulsory education;
Condemns the cutting of water services to DUT (Midlands Campus) by Umgungundlovu Municipality and calls for immediate reconnection of water services to DUT (Midlands Campus) to enable academic activities to proceed with immediate effect;
Introduction of free compulsory education at tertiary institutions as of January 2011; and Africanisation of our institutions of learning and recognition of African languages as a medium of instruction in all disciplines of academic pursuit.
Issued by The Presidency
Linda Ndebele
PAYCO President
