#OpenOurUniversities: DA calls for extraordinary parliamentary meeting
27 September 2016
The DA will today write to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Baleka Mbete, Chief Whip of the Majority Party, Jackson Mthembu, and Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, Connie September, to request that the Portfolio Committee be urgently reconvened this week to discuss the higher education crisis currently engulfing our universities.
In terms of Rule 167(h)(iv) of the Rules of the National Assembly, a committee may meet on any day and at any time including during recess. There is therefore no reason why the people’s representatives should not immediately return to Parliament to discuss the current crisis which continues to threaten the future of students and universities alike.
The DA will furthermore urge the Chairperson of the Committee, in exercising powers set out in Rule 138, to:
- Summon the Minister of Higher Education and Training, Blade Nzimande, and the Minister of Finance, Pravin Gordhan, to brief the committee and the nation as to which steps are currently being taken to ensure that poor students and the “missing middle” receive the support they need.
- Allow for oral and written representations from university chancellors and students on the impact that the continued unlawful shut-down of campuses is having on education across the country. This should include a briefing on which steps are being taken to assist students who wish to continue studying but who fear for their safety.
Parliament has an obligation, as the elected assembly of the people of South Africa, to hold the executive accountable for the current crisis as well as satisfy itself that the rights of all students are being respected.
To date, Minister Nzimande has made the funding crisis - which the ANC government created through years of chronic under-funding – the universities' problem. This shameful lack of leadership and attempt to pit students against universities cannot be left unchallenged.
There also seems to be no plan to ensure the safety of students and staff on campuses in order for our universities to re-open. A small group of students are determined to keep our universities shut by using violence and intimidation. This has directly resulted in the rights of the vast majority of students being infringed upon.
The DA will continue to use every mechanism available to us to ensure that the rights of students are protected. This requires that a plan is put in place to resolve the funding crisis, and provide much needed support to the poor and “missing middle”, while also ensuring that a small criminal group does not hijack a legitimate cause and prevent valuable learning from taking place on our campuses.
It is time for elected Members of Parliament to do our part in resolving the current Higher Education crisis. The future of generations to come is simply too important to be left to an uncaring government and a criminal few.
Issued by Belinda Bozzoli, DA Shadow Minister of Higher Education and Training, 27 September 2016
